birth weight

[xbred]

could it be that some bulls do not determine the birth weights of the calves they sire? that maybe their gene that determines birthweight is passive and the birthweight of their calves is determined by the dam ? Maybe this is impossible, those of you who are more edcuated in breeding will laugh at this. have you ever seen a bull who's calves show no logic other than following in their dams' or granddams' footsteps as far as birthweight?

 

[Frankie]

could it be that some bulls do not determine the birth weights of the calves they sire? that maybe their gene that determines birthweight is passive and the birthweight of their calves is determined by the dam ? Maybe this is impossible, those of you who are more edcuated in breeding will laugh at this. have you ever seen a bull who's calves show no logic other than following in their dams' or granddams' footsteps as far as birthweight?

Management plays a big role in birthweights. If the dam and granddam were raised and calved under one management system, maybe that's the cause of similar birthweights no matter the bull's input? Are these AI bulls?

 

[xbred]

i bred 6 heifers to a bull i raised..virgin bull with low to no accuracy rate but low btw epd... in every case the calf was representative of it's granddam (which i raised and still have and are aslo bred to this same bull) all crossbred heifers and cows..purebred bull...the heifers are not all necessarilly the same size/frame as their mothers...i'm thinking that heterosis in crossbred cows may go farther in determining birthweight than a purebred sire..

 

[dun]

i bred 6 heifers to a bull i raised..virgin bull with low to no accuracy rate but low btw epd... in every case the calf was representative of it's granddam (which i raised and still have and are aslo bred to this same bull) all crossbred heifers and cows..purebred bull...the heifers are not all necessarilly the same size/frame as their mothers...i'm thinking that heterosis in crossbred cows may go farther in determining birthweight than a purebred sire..

Heterosis doesn;t start at birth. It plays a part in determining BW too

 

[novaman]

i bred 6 heifers to a bull i raised..virgin bull with low to no accuracy rate but low btw epd... in every case the calf was representative of it's granddam (which i raised and still have and are aslo bred to this same bull) all crossbred heifers and cows..purebred bull...the heifers are not all necessarilly the same size/frame as their mothers...i'm thinking that heterosis in crossbred cows may go farther in determining birthweight than a purebred sire..

What? Maybe it's too early for my brain to decipher this one or maybe it really doesn't make any sense.

 

[Oldtimer]

i bred 6 heifers to a bull i raised..virgin bull with low to no accuracy rate but low btw epd... in every case the calf was representative of it's granddam (which i raised and still have and are aslo bred to this same bull) all crossbred heifers and cows..purebred bull...the heifers are not all necessarilly the same size/frame as their mothers...i'm thinking that heterosis in crossbred cows may go farther in determining birthweight than a purebred sire..

Heterosis doesn;t start at birth. It plays a part in determining BW too

I agree Dun...Some of the biggest calves I ever had came from cross bred cows...I had a hereford cow that normally thru about a 90 lb calf- bred to a moderate birthweight angus bull- and she had a 138 lb bull calf that was the biggest steer I sold that year...Something apparently nicked in that genetic makeup that really caused that calf to grow....

 

[xbred]

yes heterosis begins at conception...my point is that the cross breed cow's genetic make-up may be stronger in determining the birthweight of the calf than the sire, especially a purebred sire...( i do know that when breeding brahman crosses, if the brahman cross is from the sire, the calves will tend to be larger than if the brahman influence is from the maternal side. I just thought it was unusual for these hiefers to have calves that reflected the mature sizes of their granddams....

 

[novatech]

Birth weight is 30% heritable. That puts in the high range. That does not mean it's goin to happen. It does mean you shuld watch the birth weights on the bull used.

 

[jerry27150]

i notice that if a cow has trouble calving the first year her heifers will have the same problem when they freshen unless bred to a real calving ease bull. also notice that some can freshen at 700 lbs with no trouble & their heifer calves rarely have any trouble either whether bred to a calving ease bull or not.

 

[redcowsrule33]

The cow can play a role, too. I was told by a well known breeder that his most popular flush cow will carry any calf to 100+ # while all the ET flushmates would be in the 65-85# range. She was the dam to many low birthweight calving ease AI bulls. I have one that is similar. Some girls like to cook 'em bigger.