Culling Based Decisions

Help Support CattleToday:

ScottP

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 10, 2008
Messages
54
Reaction score
0
Here's an interesting article about Culling Heifers based on weaning weight and the heifer's weight. The basic argument is that if you have a momma cow that weans a 600 lbs calf that only weights 1300lbs and another momma cow that weans a 600lbs calf and weights 1500lbs that the first is the better animal to keep. Based on the first will consume less forage then the latter. What do y'all think?

Here's the Article
http://hotshotsvideoproductions.com...-matters-in-the-cowcalf-business&catid=16:tcs
 
I think one shoe dosn't fit all. Seen the 1200 LB cow wean the six weight and look like hell and the 1500 LB cow wean the 650 calf and look good doing it And seen it the other wayaround. Cull each cow on there on merits.
 
I believe his point was that the larger cow eats more than the smaller one, so she costs you less
 
If the cows have the same body condition score, it well may be that she is the more efficient animal. I think you need to take into account BCS and breed composition too (calf and cow).
 
Red Bull Breeder":s1axzbmd said:
I think one shoe dosn't fit all. Seen the 1200 LB cow wean the six weight and look like be nice and the 1500 LB cow wean the 650 calf and look good doing it And seen it the other wayaround. Cull each cow on there on merits.
I agree with you on this. All things being equal the smaller cow will be more efficient. But as you stated if the smaller cow goes to far down in BCS then the cost of bringing her back into shape will out way the savings on producing the calf. On the other hand if she can some what maintain her BCS then she would be the best investment. As you said;
Cull each cow on their own merits.
 
novatech":2or90csv said:
Red Bull Breeder":2or90csv said:
I think one shoe dosn't fit all. Seen the 1200 LB cow wean the six weight and look like be nice and the 1500 LB cow wean the 650 calf and look good doing it And seen it the other wayaround. Cull each cow on there on merits.
I agree with you on this. All things being equal the smaller cow will be more efficient. But as you stated if the smaller cow goes to far down in BCS then the cost of bringing her back into shape will out way the savings on producing the calf. On the other hand if she can some what maintain her BCS then she would be the best investment. As you said;
Cull each cow on their own merits.

This all goes back to being a grass farmer first and picking easy keepers for your enviroment. There are no bad breeds just poor choices by cattlemen for their operating enviroment. It is about finding the right cow that maximizes growth, converts grass to milk to folding money on grass only.
 
Just thinking out loud on this cow size/calf size/efficiency scenario. If a smaller cow produces a 650 lb calf at weaning wouldn't she have to eat more to support grow out the larger calf? Granted she would have to eat less to maintain her own body condition score but the real advantage would be to raise calves that would go through their growth spurt and highest efficiency stage after weaning when they were in the feed lot.
 
If a 1200 lb cow and 1500 lb cow gets up and goes to graze at the same time comes back and piles up in the shade at the same time, does the bigger cow have enough bigger mouth to eat that much more than the smaller cow??
 
Santas and Duhram Reds":1wq207wk said:
Cattle Today had a show the other day saying as a rule of thumb a cow should wean a calf 1/2 her own weight.

That;s one of the old rules of thumb like the 75% of mature weight fro breeding heifers and ground corn is more efficient then whole corn.
 
novatech":30kqal3b said:
Just thinking out loud on this cow size/calf size/efficiency scenario. If a smaller cow produces a 650 lb calf at weaning wouldn't she have to eat more to support grow out the larger calf?

Not necessarily. It all comes down to efficiency of converting forage.
 
msscamp":17jxu5w0 said:
novatech":17jxu5w0 said:
Just thinking out loud on this cow size/calf size/efficiency scenario. If a smaller cow produces a 650 lb calf at weaning wouldn't she have to eat more to support grow out the larger calf?

Not necessarily. It all comes down to efficiency of converting forage.
I could not agree with you more. When people compare cow size in relation to efficiency the assumption is that all cattle are equally efficient at converting forage or feed. This is simply not true.
There is one other factor involved although minor. That fast growing calf, before weaning, is consuming a lot more than just milk. Calves will eat one heck of a lot of grass. Lighter calves will consume less.
Then one gets to what they get when they sell. Right now the market is paying more for heavy calves. So right now those heavy weaning weights would be beneficial.
There is another factor involved. Maturing rate. Calves go through growth spurts. Some go through this spurt while still on the cow and some after weaning. To tell this all you have to do is look at their EPD's. Make a comparison of weaning weights and yearling weights between animals. If you sell at the auction then a heavy weaning weight is important, but if you sell direct to the feed lot then maybe fast growth at the lot may be more important.
Breeding for any specific trait is a long term proposition. For the average bear the fastest way to improve the growth rate on calves is with the improvement of the forage the momma cow and calf consume. It would be far more cost effictive to listen to the advice of Caustic being a grass farmer first before worrying about refineing genetics to fit the pasture.
 

Latest posts

Top