birth weight

[DRB]

How soon after birth is birth weight determined? If I happen to be around right at birth I may be able to get it..but after that mama gets her bearings, it would take the best cowboy in Texas to get that calf weighed...After a day or two I can usually get the calf separated without too much comotion and weigh it..Now are you telling me that every calf in large herds get weighed at birth? I bet you many a calf gets estimated...and if a low birth wieght is needed on a particular EPD it gets it..Am I wrong????

 

[jcarkie]

i have wondered looking at the catalogs of ranches that calve 1000 cows?do they weigh all of them? small operator small mind !!

 

[cattle_gal]

There's a couple of different ways to wiegh that I know of, one is the scale and the other is a wiegh tape. The tape goes around their hoof. much easier than a scale. Somewhere there is a adjustment rate for weight if you weigh a couple of days later. Prehaps do a google and maybe you can find it.

 

[Craig-TX]

i have wondered looking at the catalogs of ranches that calve 1000 cows?do they weigh all of them? small operator small mind !!

Not a small mind, a legitimate question. Producers typically don't weigh their calves. Breeders do because they need to keep stats, but if you're running a cow/calf operation you're generally not too concerned with birthweights. You're more concerned with what they weigh at selling time.

Craig-TX

 

[DRB]

I have a weigh tape..and I have a scale...if the mother is overly protective and gives birth in pasture getting the calf away from its mother on birth date is very hard.....I guess two or three guys could distract the mother while weighing the calf, but I just don't see how a seed stock producer gets this done on a large scale...

 

[Campground Cattle]

I have a weigh tape..and I have a scale...if the mother is overly protective and gives birth in pasture getting the calf away from its mother on birth date is very hard.....I guess two or three guys could distract the mother while weighing the calf, but I just don't see how a seed stock producer gets this done on a large scale...

I run a small Reg Hereford herd and I want birth weights its not easy and I don't get them all. I tape my calves as is the easiest way I have found.

 

[bwranch]

.... I bet you many a calf gets estimated...and if a low birth wieght is needed on a particular EPD it gets it..Am I wrong????

Do people cheat on their taxes? Some do, some don't. Is their an opportunity to cheat on birth weights and weaning weights? Of course. Does everybody do it? No. At any rate, it would take a lot of lying to change a high accuracy EPD, don't you think?

Lee

 

[txshowmom]

We weight every calf that is born. We have a old beat up pickup that is used for getting the caves out of the pasture. We run Brahmans and the are VERY protective so here is what we do if we can't get to the calf without getting killed: I drive the truck and my husband ropes the calf from the back of the truck and pulls it in the back and then I haul butt to the other side of the pasture, he weights the calf on a spring scale in the back of the truck and then lets it out. We have had cows try to get in the back of the truck and we have also had them charge the truck and the driver (me). Thant how the truck got that way to begin with. Sometimes I wonder why we even bother with the birth weights anyway. I think a lot of people lie about birth weights weaning weights and especially BIRTHDATES on registration paers anyway.

 

[dun]

At any rate, it would take a lot of lying to change a high accuracy EPD, don't you think?

Lee

Back in the days when EPDs were just starting the replace EBVs I discussed the accuracy issue with one of the cheeses at Carnation Genetics. His understanding at that time and mine to this day since I haven't asked any one about it, is that widely varying weights don't increase the accuracy as fast as closer weights do.
Not sure that I splane this so it makes sense but I'll try. For BW if you have 100 weights that range from 70-75 pounds the accuracy would go up (this is only a for instance) from .10 to .20 where if the weights rainged from 70-85 it would only go up from .10 to .15. Remember this is just a for instance and was explained to me 20 some odd years ago.

dun

 

[certherfbeef]

I think a lot of people lie about... BIRTHDATES on registration paers anyway.

It always amazed me the small breeder that always had all 10 of his cows calve on the 1st of march.

 

[txshowmom]

I think a lot of people lie about... BIRTHDATES on registration paers anyway.

It always amazed me the small breeder that always had all 10 of his cows calve on the 1st of march.

If you AIed 10 cows on the same date at the same time odds are they are not ALL going to calve at the exact same time but for some people they do. Funny how we seem to have a lot of 800-900 pound calves in a 6 month old class in the show ring. I want a pasture full of cows that wean off 800 pounders at 5-6 months, now those are some good cows buddy!

 

[dun]

I want a pasture full of cows that wean off 800 pounders at 5-6 months, now those are some good cows buddy!

I think those cows that do that are grey, have long noses and ears bigger then a Brahma.

dun

 

[Campground Cattle]

.... I bet you many a calf gets estimated...and if a low birth wieght is needed on a particular EPD it gets it..Am I wrong????

Do people cheat on their taxes? Some do, some don't. Is their an opportunity to cheat on birth weights and weaning weights? Of course. Does everybody do it? No. At any rate, it would take a lot of lying to change a high accuracy EPD, don't you think?

Lee

You are absolutly right thats why I refused to participate in Herefords TPR to get all the data you are going to have to lie. The only other way is have a lot of help on the Ranch. It is an unrealstic goal in a one man operation.
Certherf you are right seems like you run into a lot of breeders calves were born on the same date all weighed 60 lbs at birth and weaned at
unbelievable weights on mothers milk and grass.

 

[Campground Cattle]

I want a pasture full of cows that wean off 800 pounders at 5-6 months, now those are some good cows buddy!

I think those cows that do that are grey, have long noses and ears bigger then a Brahma.

dun

Dun are you throwing the BS flag I totally agree.

 

[dun]

Dun are you throwing the BS flag I totally agree.

I think the BS should be in larger print and bold.
Maybe the horse industry has it right. Birthdates are all the 1 of January no matter if they're born in December. So in theory a one day old foal could be a yearling the same age as one that is 366 days old.

dun

 

[Double A Ranch]

I dont see how the big ranches do it either with that many. We have F1s so we don't have to weigh them when they're born. Its a good thing too because those tigerstipred mamas like to get you.

txshowmom, do you and your husband ranch full-time? We work off-farm and now during the winter months we sometimes dont see the cows in daylight. We can feed hay and stuff in the dark but trying to find and weigh baby calves in the dark would be really hard.

 

[txshowmom]

I dont see how the big ranches do it either with that many. We have F1s so we don't have to weigh them when they're born. Its a good thing too because those tigerstipred mamas like to get you.

txshowmom, do you and your husband ranch full-time? We work off-farm and now during the winter months we sometimes dont see the cows in daylight. We can feed hay and stuff in the dark but trying to find and weigh baby calves in the dark would be really hard.

Yes we both work off ranch but we get them weighed first thing when we get home while we still have daylight.

 

[D.R. Cattle]

I think a lot of people lie about... BIRTHDATES on registration paers anyway.

It always amazed me the small breeder that always had all 10 of his cows calve on the 1st of march.

If you AIed 10 cows on the same date at the same time odds are they are not ALL going to calve at the exact same time but for some people they do. Funny how we seem to have a lot of 800-900 pound calves in a 6 month old class in the show ring. I want a pasture full of cows that wean off 800 pounders at 5-6 months, now those are some good cows buddy!

Call The Guiness book!

 

[Cattle Rack Rancher]

txshowmom wrote:

I think a lot of people lie...

Me, too.

 

[Frankie]

How soon after birth is birth weight determined? If I happen to be around right at birth I may be able to get it..but after that mama gets her bearings, it would take the best cowboy in Texas to get that calf weighed...After a day or two I can usually get the calf separated without too much comotion and weigh it..Now are you telling me that every calf in large herds get weighed at birth? I bet you many a calf gets estimated...and if a low birth wieght is needed on a particular EPD it gets it..Am I wrong????

The American Angus Assn wants the calf weighed within 24 hours after birth. That's what we do, every one of them. Those big registered outfits AI most of their cattle so they know when the calves will be born and have the cows where the calves can be weighed. They also have several ranchands helping out. Don't kid yourself, it can be done. It's not easy, but if it's important to you, you make it happen.

IMO, yes, you're wrong in suggesting that people only report the weights that make their cattle look good.