NonTypicalCPA
Well-known member
I'm a small breeder with 5 girls, two of which calved in the past two weeks. In considering whether or not to keep replacement heifers, at what age do you feel you can get a good feel on their conformation?
Calf Conformation
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pdfangus
Well-known member
weaning....about 6 or 7 months....
Nesikep
Well-known member
The more cows and calves you look at and watch grow, the earlier you can start to see which ones are promising... This year I had one that I thought looked really good at birth, and now at 3 months she's just an average calf that I've decided against keeping... I think by about 2 months you start to see how they develop and can get reasonable reliability.. You can always speculate right from birth, but until they're eating grass, there are just some that will do better or worse.. the longer you wait, the more accurate you'll be.
I've also had some that looked great at weaning time, but once they were off milk they just fell apart
I've also had some that looked great at weaning time, but once they were off milk they just fell apart
The operative word is "promising". You can usually pick out the poor ones at a younger age. Weaning the should be starting to show what they are made of. But some don;t really blossom till yearling or beyond. We have one cow that is raising her first calf and looked like a real winner until she calved. Her and her daughter will both be crawling on the trailer at weaning time. And this is from a family of cows that have always excelled.Nesikep":1gta5ceb said:
Nesikep
Well-known member
I have one of them too.. though she never looked as good as her two sisters, she absolutely got totally ugly about 3 months before calving, and is getting worse every day.. skinny, swayback, no chest, no butt.. she's not getting a 2nd strike!dun":3hhf4uzx said:
UUUuuugggllly! (proof I do have back pasture cows)
Maternal half sister licking her daughter that is a paternal half sister
Momma at 12 years old
NonTypicalCPA
Well-known member
Nesi, that's some beautiful country you live in!!
Rafter S
Well-known member
Nesi,
I assume she's been wormed, but I wonder if there's something else wrong with that heifer? Maybe a belly full of hardware?
I assume she's been wormed, but I wonder if there's something else wrong with that heifer? Maybe a belly full of hardware?
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
yes, I was thinking there may be something wrong with her. Even, possible Johnes?? IF she has received deworming with all your other cattle, and it's just the fact that she is a hard do-er, she definitely needs to grow wheels.Rafter S":208m9obp said:
Nesikep
Well-known member
Old man is against any ivermectin or such... belly full of hardware at 2 years old would be kinda strange and doesn't account for just plain poor conformation... she eats just fine... normal cowpies out the back
WalnutCrest
Well-known member
Not everyone is meant to contribute their genes to the next generation.
Nesikep
Well-known member
Gee thanks :lol2:WalnutCrest":ftmljvo5 said:
WalnutCrest
Well-known member
Nesikep":1f0n8xms said:
Happy to help!
:tiphat:
HA!
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
We cull at weaning, then re cull before breeding, then re re cull after first calving. Very unusual to drop out after that.
Culling rate is about double on purchased vs. home raised weanlings.
Culling rate is about double on purchased vs. home raised weanlings.
WalnutCrest
Well-known member
Do you have a rough proportion of what you cut at each interval?
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
WalnutCrest":kxxw4m7e said:
We used to only retain a few heifers, and there was almost no culling after the at weaning selection. We expected and usually got 100% conception.
We are currently retaining the majority of our heifers but cull more as we go. The current cull break down is roughly 65% at weaning (usually small or nervous or poor conformation)/15% before breeding(usually XL)/20% after 1st calf(usually poor mothers or slow breeders).
Nesikep
Well-known member
Stocker steve, that sounds about right... Out of the typical 10 heifers I get per year, I'll keep 4.. usually one won't be that great in springtime (the lowest of the pecking order).. depending on my feed and how many "priority" culls I have I'll give her a kick at the can, but in all likelyhood she'll have one calf and be gone, perhaps with another of her peers.
lithuanian farmer
Well-known member
I watch every calf since birth and how it grows, looks. Most will show lots of potential since early days. Usually the ones which looked good with cows, look good after weaning. Had some which just bloomed then. At the moment we are increasing our herd, so leave most of the heifers. This year have 18 yearling heifers and gonna leave around 14. From 15 heifers, which were born this year, at the moment around 10-11 look worth keeping. Some will be kept to replace their dams as some cows had no heifers before and have to be culled this year. However, still look if they are not poor. Shape, growth, character are important. Culling is done before breeding, sometimes have to cull after it, when some stay empty, and after 2-3 calves, if they are hard calvers, had one which first calf was 112lbs, second 145.5lbs and both dead.
