Heifer: Keep Her or Sell Her?

[Jabes0623]

I'm debating what to do with my heifers. Sell & use the funds to buy a couple proven cows or go ahead & AI the heifers & see what I end up with. The red heifer is 12 days shy of 13 months old & has been on nothing but mama's milk & hay/grass her entire life. Before I make my final decision I wanted to see what you all thought of the heifers (I only have pics of the red one now, I'll try & gt pics of the black one in the next day or two) & hopefully benefit from your experience.

 

[Muddy]

She looks promising to me

 

[Lazy M]

I believe it's a sin to sell a good heifer, and she looks good enough to me

 

[Air gator]

I have always felt that every time I make a transaction I lose.
At least you know what you have and if you A.I. then you can opt for maternal or growth or color.

 

[elkwc]

I would keep her and let her develop. She is a nice heifer. You know her mother.

 

[Nesikep]

There's something a little funny about her neck and head.. kinda looks like runt calves, but the rest of the body looks fine.. If her momma does well by your books I'd keep her and try her out... that's what I'd do... you already kept her one winter

 

[Son of Butch]

I have always felt that every time I make a transaction I lose.

+1
Yes - commission, time and trucking all add up.
Guess you'll just have to breed 1 sell 1 and buy 1 and report back next year on which way was best. :cowboy:

 

[js1234]

There's something a little funny about her neck and head.. kinda looks like runt calves, but the rest of the body looks fine.. If her momma does well by your books I'd keep her and try her out... that's what I'd do... you already kept her one winter

Agreed pillar to post.

 

[SPH]

She looks functional to me, if her momma is a good cow and she's bred right don't talk yourself into reasons not to keep her. You never really truly know what you have with heifers till they calve out. Some of the best looking heifers can turn out to be poor cows and some of the more marginal looking ones can turn into great cows. Seen it ourselves over the years, one that might look like the best heifer in the bunch that you think is a can't miss prospect sometimes is a complete dud or a horrible mother and one we thought about getting rid of but decided to keep and give a chance turns into a great cow.

 

[Jabes0623]

Here's the black heifer, she's 11 months old & is out of M/L Advantage. Her EPD's outstanding but she's a little on the small side. But she's out of a 1st calf cow. The red heifer is a CIRS Decade calf, saw someone said something about their breeding.

 

[WalnutCrest]

I'd keep the red and punt on the fuzzy black one. If the black's numbers are good enough, you might be able to get enough for her that would give you the funds to buy the proven mama you were considering.

 

[Muddy]

I can tell that the black one is gonna be a hard doer or just pitiful looking one. Hatchet azzed Angus ain't my type.

 

[DOC HARRIS]

Jabes0623-

Now let's just stop and take a deep breath and consider what you are contemplating here. What are your GOALS in beef breeding? Can you really take the black heifer and the red heifer - compare their phenotype, and EPD's - and see BOTH of these heifers fitting into your idea of what a balanced future herd would look like and perform like?? Do you really think that both of these heifers would produce progeny that would compare in whatever quality cattle you want in a breeding herd? You would be working on building a herd of hodge-podge cattle that would take you at least twelve years of changing your breeding technics and management plans to gain an acceptably balanced breeding herd by retaining heifers from both of these calves. The red heifer is a fine beginning specimen to blend with a bull whose traits are similar. The black heifer (bless her little pea-pickin' heart !) is a square peg in a round hole.

Don't be barn blind - I don't care what her EPD's are or who her sire and dam are. You don't want to build a BEEF herd with that type of phenotype! Use MULTIPLE TRAIT SELECTION decisions in keeping breeders.
Not the black.

DOC HARRIS

 

[French Anne]

The red one is well balanced.
The black one is more skinny but if she is out of a first calf cow, we can understand it, maybe she didn't have the same growing conditions!
I already saw a lot of pity heifers that became gorgeous cows. Just let her the time to grow. Sometimes heifers that had a difficult growth are the most solid cows.