Heifer weights

[Flatbroke]

Saw a pen full of bred heifers sell yesterday and thought they were going for a good price but being a new guy I thought some thing just ain't right. They looked like Char/Cross except one that had some highlander look to her, any way all light color off white. The avg weight was 970 and they were to start calving on March 30, they just looked a little light to me.........so my long wendy question is what should they weigh one month from first calf? Or should have I brought them home they went for just over a dollar a pound. :help:

 

[randiliana]

I'd be a little nervous with them being under 1000-1100 lbs and 1 month from calving. Were they small framed, or were they thin? A lot would depend on the bulls they were bred to too.

 

[Flatbroke]

They did not even mention what they were bred to, and they looked thin, like they were not even pg but they kept saying they would be end of March or early april. They looked like they were large frame cattle.

 

[randiliana]

I think I would have passed on them too. Thin cattle are weaker, have weaker calve and don't produce quality colostrum. And you can't just bring them in and start feeding them a lot of grain, or you end up with problems that way too. As the saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true (the price) it probably is....

 

[Black and Good]

I can relate, I bought a couple Black Angus Cross Heifers off a local farm awhile back. They are due to calf around 4/15 one I'd say will weigh around 875# the other 825#. But I talked to the ol'boy who owns the B/A bull they are bred to, supposed to throw tiny #45 to 50# calves. So just have to keep my fingers crossed. If the calves are that small I should be fine.

 

[MO_cows]

I wouldn't be concerned so much with the actual pounds they weighed as their condition.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Saw a pen full of bred heifers sell yesterday and thought they were going for a good price but being a new guy I thought some thing just ain't right. They looked like Char/Cross except one that had some highlander look to her, any way all light color off white. The avg weight was 970 and they were to start calving on March 30, they just looked a little light to me.........so my long wendy question is what should they weigh one month from first calf? Or should have I brought them home they went for just over a dollar a pound. :help:

Depends on the genetics... and Char cows are not my favorite.
I rolled the dice and bought some thin bred BA heifers Dec of 2010, then put them on free choice upland hay. I did get a lot of hard cull'in practice ;-) since there are only 3 of 9 left - - but it was not a great business deal.
You did right by passing.

 

[bigbull338]

there weight isnt bad at all for 1st calf heifers.you just have to watch heifers as they are getting ready to calve.