Are Heifers to small?

[TXMike]

I bought 3 black baldy heifers a year ago that everyone seems to think are miniature..... When I bought them I saw the hereford cows that they came from and they were all plenty big and the guy said that he used a angus bull he borrowed. I measured them at the hip for frame score and they are all 51-53 inches at the hip and 19 months old which makes them between a 6 and 7 frame score. If i had to estimate weight id be lying to you, I have no eye for estimating weight. I want to throw a bull on them so I can get some calves on the ground but everyone tells me im wasting my money keeping these 'miniature heifers'. They are the gentlest heifers Ive got all 3 will eat out of your hand.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

That one looks alright to me.

 

[skeeter swatter]

Breed 'em.

 

[longhorntractor]

They look good to me. Breed em!

 

[Nite Hawk]

The general rule of thumb is at least 14 months old ( depending on breed-Jersy for example breed young and are mature young)
or better yet 3/4 of mature body size.
Feed them well so they continue to grow, and then slack off on heavy feed about 3 months before calving, so that heavy feed doesn't cause the calf to grow too big, as the third trimester is usually when the calf gets the most growth..

 

[chippie]

If they were miniature, they would be under 40 inches tall. They are in great condition and I would follow the advice given.

 

[cmf1]

Are the people telling you that they are too small also offering to take them off your hands for a couple hundred bucks a head?

 

[AllForage]

Now what would you say if I told you they were going to be too big?

 

[denvermartinfarms]

They look fine to me.

 

[Isomade]

Don't listen to the bafoons above me. They have no idea what they are talking about. Them are miniature cattle and ain't worth squat. I hate to see a man embarrassed by having something like that in his pasture so I'm gonna give you $200 a piece for em. I'll be there this afternoon. PM me your address.

 

[TXMike]

Man I'm glad. I felt like they still had plenty of time to grow, but once more than one person told me they were small I was nervous I got ripped off.. I think most of the guys saying they are small are used to seein 3-4 year old cows and selling their calves when they are less than a year old and never seeing the in between phase. I'm going to look at a low birth weight angus bull today. If everything works out Ill have a bull in that pasture by the end of the day and hopefully some calves in 9 months!

 

[Brute 23]

Man I'm glad. I felt like they still had plenty of time to grow, but once more than one person told me they were small I was nervous I got ripped off.. I think most of the guys saying they are small are used to seein 3-4 year old cows and selling their calves when they are less than a year old and never seeing the in between phase. I'm going to look at a low birth weight angus bull today. If everything works out Ill have a bull in that pasture by the end of the day and hopefully some calves in 9 months!

Your probably right. :nod:

 

[Nite Hawk]

Make sure when you get a low birth weight bull that his calve have good grow-ability after birth or you will have minuture cattle at adult hood

 

[jrn28]

One Neighbor told me the samething when I got started. All my cows grew moderate in size, he was surprised when they had calves heavier than some of his.

 

[Taurus]

Does anyone in here actually know what is their actual size? It's hard to tell the actual size of the cows in the picture.

 

[dun]

Does anyone in here actually know what is their actual size? It's hard to tell the actual size of the cows in the picture.

Just this
"I measured them at the hip for frame score and they are all 51-53 inches at the hip and 19 months "
from the first post

 

[TXMike]

Well I came home with a registered angus bull. The guy I bought him from was the coolest guy ive ever bought anything from off the internet. The bulls grand sire is Bon View New Design 1407 and the guy told me he breeds and AIs specifically for LBW, CE, milk and HYW. He said hes never had to pull a calf. We went to have him fertility checked at the vet and the vet said he was in great shape.

 

[Isomade]

Does anyone in here actually know what is their actual size? It's hard to tell the actual size of the cows in the picture.

Judging from the height of the grass, in conjunction with the size of the panel squares and the position of the sun in the pics I would guess them to be 51-53 inches at the hip.

 

[3waycross]

Does anyone in here actually know what is their actual size? It's hard to tell the actual size of the cows in the picture.

Judging from the height of the grass, in conjunction with the size of the panel squares and the position of the sun in the pics I would guess them to be 51-53 inches at the hip.

Did you use the pythagerian theorum to arrive at that number?

 

[TXMike]

Man I was watching the bull and his back legs seemed a little stiff walking around. I checked his gait before I loaded him up and he was fine. He was in the trailer for about 6 hours and about 200 miles. He stood up the whole time. I did have one time when a log truck pulled out in front of me when I think he may have fell over. Could he just be stiff from the drive here?