Right now is when cows around here look their worst. Feeding 3-4 month old calf, hot & humid, fescue, lower nutritional quality in the grass they do eat, having to cover more ground for pound of feed.
dun
> Some of this will be a repeat of
> what’s been said, but put in a
> different way... When making
> decisions to cull a production
> herd, age is a secondary factor.
> Primary factors would be
> performance, disposition and
> condition.
> Performance: Is she a good momma?
> Does she raise a good calf? Does
> she breed back quickly?
> Disposition: Is she gentle, or is
> she crazy? Nobody has time for a
> fool cow that spooks, stirs up the
> others, won’t run with the herd,
> is always pawing the earth and
> hooking.
> Condition: How are her teeth? Any
> limp? Breathing OK? Is she fat?
> Not gobby fat, but sleek.
> NOW is the time to cull based on
> condition. If a cow doesn’t look
> good this time of year she will
> never look good. A correlation
> between age and condition could be
> drawn, but age should not be used
> for decision making. Of course, if
> a cow is really getting up there
> in years it’s obvious that each
> year you keep her carries more
> risk.
> ANYTIME is the time to cull based
> on performance and disposition.
> Craig-TX