Fall Pictures

[Backbone Ranch]

Our fall calving season has officially begun. On the 24th, we had a 58 lb heifer calf out of a first-timer. We still have six more left to go, but I think that at least three, and maybe four or five, will calve by the end of the week. This particular female was supposed to calve last fall, but her calf was presented upside-down and had a foot turned back. We were able to get the calf re-positioned, and it slid right out, but it was already too late. Here is a photo of the new pair. I am glad that this one came without issue!

And this is the new mama.

And these are some of our spring calves.
801 Bull- My favorite bull calf this year. He is 7 1/2 months old and a son of Ballee Thumbs Up.

803 Bull- A 7 month old son of Spectrum Kenton

811 Bull- A 6 1/2 month old Tony son

813 Bull- Another 6 1/2 month old Tony son. I apologize for him being so dirty. We had a cow go into a "false heat" and all the bull calves were chasing her and riding each other.

823 Bull- This 6 month old Tony son is 75% Murray Grey and 25% Angus. He is another one of my favorites.

BB Juniper- She is a full sibling to the 823 bull and is just shy of 17 months old. She will be bred in December to a really nice Tony son that we have coming on.

 

[Bright Raven]

Outstanding cattle. Is 58 pounds relatively small?

 

[Baldie Maker]

The top bull looks like a junior herd sire prospect to me! Nice!

 

[Coosh71]

Great pics! And congrats on the first time momna. She looks real good. And 801 is a stud. Make some nice calves.

 

[southernultrablack]

Very nice cattle! Love the depth they have.

 

[holm25]

That 801 bull is very nice

 

[Backbone Ranch]

I appreciate the feedback! As a group, we are extraordinarily happy with this year's set of calves.

Bright Raven- To answer your question, yes. By our standards, 58 lbs is small, even for a first calf heifer. We rarely have any calving issues, so we have not been placing much emphasis on birth weight as a selection criteria. Over the past few years, I have noticed that the birth weights from our first calf heifers have decreased, but the quality of the calves has improved considerably. Most recently, we have been using Tony over our first calf heifers (his actual birth weight was 86 lbs), but we have used two other bulls in the past. To date, Tony's calves out of first calf heifers have ranged from 46-87 lbs, but the majority are in the 60-65 lbs realm. Out of mature cows, he averages 72 lbs for the heifers and right around 80 lbs for the bulls.

 

[Redgully]

They are very well bred cattle. I love the balance from shoulder to rump. And superb top line. They would have good ema scores. I used to run a murray grey bull over my herd. He always produced the goods.

 

[Nesikep]

Love them!