Birth weight for Heifers

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tnwalkingred

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When breeding Hereford heifers what is a good number on the BW of a bull that I choose to AI them to? I guess in other words what number is the cutoff to where you would no longer feel comfortable breeding them. Thanks.
 
tnwalkingred":72qyxzvz said:
When breeding Hereford heifers what is a good number on the BW of a bull that I choose to AI them to? I guess in other words what number is the cutoff to where you would no longer feel comfortable breeding them. Thanks.
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The average Hereford BW is 3.6, the average CED is .2. Personally I would want something that has a BW of 1.5 or better and CED of 3 or better, which would be in the top 15% of the breed for both.
 
Calving ease direct(CED) is a good tool as well as BW. It takes a few more factors into account than just pounds and you'll find some bulls with potential to sire a bigger calf that are still not causing problems on heifers.
Also, look at the genetics from the heifer side as they are half of the equation. If they are bred for calving ease then you can be a little more liberal with your choices but if they are below average then you may want to breed a little more extreme for the first go-round.
 
tnwalkingred":1ttyli1e said:
I understand how the BW epd is calculated but I don't know much about CED. I'm guessing a higher number is better?????
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Correct. The breed association I'm sure has a page somewhere that explains all of their EPDS and also trends and percentages.
 

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