bulls birth wieght

[Anonymous]

i was recently told that to help determine the size of calf that a bull will throw is to look at his birth wieght....if a bull was 75 lbs when he was born......will his calves be the same size?

thanks

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[Anonymous]

A bull's own birth weight will not always give an accurate indication of how big his own calves will be. Factors like how his dam was fed, exercise, and weather can influence his own birth weight.

An epd if available is said to be 9 times more accurate for determining the birth weight of his offspring. To start with, his own weight will be used to help generate the bw epd, so to say an actual bw has no bearing would be wrong.

With all that being said, basically the only positive way to know how big a bull's calves will be, is to use him.

Jason Trowbridge Southern Angus Farms Alberta Canada

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[Anonymous]

In addition to Jasons comments, the cows he is bred to will also contribute towards the birth weight and their nutritional also.

dunmovin farms

> A bull's own birth weight will not
> always give an accurate indication
> of how big his own calves will be.
> Factors like how his dam was fed,
> exercise, and weather can
> influence his own birth weight.

> An epd if available is said to be
> 9 times more accurate for
> determining the birth weight of
> his offspring. To start with, his
> own weight will be used to help
> generate the bw epd, so to say an
> actual bw has no bearing would be
> wrong.

> With all that being said,
> basically the only positive way to
> know how big a bull's calves will
> be, is to use him.

> Jason Trowbridge Southern Angus
> Farms Alberta Canada

 

[Anonymous]

I think a bull's own birth weight is important if it can be compared with a contemporary group. But it is affected by weather, climate, dam's management, etc. EPDs are much more accurate in predicting which bull will produce smaller calves. And, at best, the bull is only half the genetic make up of the calf. Add the genetic make up of the cow and her management; those affect the birth weight of the calf, too. If you breed the same bull to a Jersey cow and a Simmental cow, their calves aren't likely to weigh the same at birth.

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