Hereford pair

[alexfarms]

Here are a couple pics I took today of a March 17, 2010 bull calf out of DBH LI DOMINETTE 466P ET {DLF,HYF,IEF} (42465943) http://www.herfnet.com/online/cgi-bin/i ... 4&9=5C5351 and sired by AF HL KING DOMINO 737 ET (P42870204) http://www.herfnet.com/online/cgi-bin/i ... 2&9=5C535E

He is smooth polled so far and red necked and red legged.

 

[KNERSIE]

The cow and the grass is doing a fine job in raising the calf, the cow's not going to win many beauty pageants though. And why would rednecked and redlegged make a calf better, those aren't traditional Hereford markings?

 

[alexfarms]

The cow and the grass is doing a fine job in raising the calf, the cow's not going to win many beauty pageants though. And why would rednecked and redlegged make a calf better, those aren't traditional Hereford markings?

Red legs are as traditional as the white face. I have never heard of anyone selecting for white legs. If you select for white legs, you would be the first I have ever heard of. The rednecks have always been around and favored by many. The original recommendation on white markings on the neck was that the white feather not exceed back beyound the last rib. My father always believed that a short white feather was better than a red neck because, in his experience, bulls with a short white feather tended to mark their calves that way whereas red neck bulls tended to throw more linebacks. I have not used enough rednecked bulls to say if he was right or wrong, but the bulls that have done the most solid job of not throwing extra white had short white feathers and I have not used a redneck that I considered to be a white cutter.
As far as the grass goes. The warm season grass is so good in this area (less than half the year) that I seriously doubt you could get calves to even eat out of a creep feeder.

 

[KNERSIE]

The cow and the grass is doing a fine job in raising the calf, the cow's not going to win many beauty pageants though. And why would rednecked and redlegged make a calf better, those aren't traditional Hereford markings?

Red legs are as traditional as the white face. I have never heard of anyone selecting for white legs. If you select for white legs, you would be the first I have ever heard of. The rednecks have always been around and favored by many. The original recommendation on white markings on the neck was that the white feather not exceed back beyound the last rib. My father always believed that a short white feather was better than a red neck because, in his experience, bulls with a short white feather tended to mark their calves that way whereas red neck bulls tended to throw more linebacks. I have not used enough rednecked bulls to say if he was right or wrong, but the bulls that have done the most solid job of not throwing extra white had short white feathers and I have not used a redneck that I considered to be a white cutter.
As far as the grass goes. The warm season grass is so good in this area (less than half the year) that I seriously doubt you could get calves to even eat out of a creep feeder.

The traditional hereford marking as far as legs go is white socks preferably not extending higher than the knee or the hock. I'm just a devils advocate when it comes to markings as I have many that have more white on the back than the oldtime ideal, I just cannot see why rednecks or redlegs are being used as marketing tools.

 

[WichitaLineMan]

I agree that markings are pretty irrelevant. I think that in a perfect world you would pick the best animal from end to end all things considered without placing any emphasis on leg or back markings.

I will however state that I have talked to a couple of order buyers who buy thousands and thousands of cattle each year out of Oklahoma and Texas and I have been told point blank that a set of "redneck" hereford calves will sell a few cents up on a traditional hereford marked calf. This is straight commercial calves I am talking about destined for a feeding or grazing operation. No reason given other than "that's the way it is".

 

[jkwilson]

Short markings are considered more attractive in the show ring. A great many animals now have very little feathering and very short socks. The red is even creeping up on the sides of the face, and red eyes are a definite selling point. We used to have a cow with red hair on her poll.

I fail to see how this impacts the production of beef, other than the red eyes, but it does impact the sale of breeding animals, so I'm going with the flow. :|

 

[SRBeef]

If we are selecting for leg and neck color on feedlot calves that must mean that we are not paying as much attention to REA, FAT, ADG, feed conversion efficiency, etc. Sounds a bit misdirected to me.

And jk - it impacts the sale of breeding animals FOR THE SHOW RING, not for the grill. I guess if that is what your customer wants that's what you give them. A bit of color around the eyes is useful, the other markings are not and further divert us from selecting for traits that DO matter in the beef business. Another example of the division between the show ring and the real world?

This whole line of thinking makes about as much sense as saying an animal with a black hide is automatically superior beef...hogwash. jmho. Jim

 

[JHH]

nice looking pair. At least he looks to have an a$$ on him. JHH

 

[vclavin]

My hubby's favorite breed - Horned Herefords. I'm not good with phenotype, but they look good to me and I agree - nice buns - :lol:
Valerie

 

[alexfarms]

If you ever have a cow develop photosensitivity, you'll appreciate short white markings.

 

[alexfarms]

Here's a better picture of 466P. I think she is a pretty meaty cow.

 

[jkwilson]

This whole line of thinking makes about as much sense as saying an animal with a black hide is automatically superior beef...hogwash. jmho. Jim

I can't see a guy taking a bite of steak and saying "Does this taste short-marked to you?" or "Does this taste like black baldie?"

May not make sense, but if it affects my $$$$, I'll stay with the short markings.

We have a heifer from this spring that is okay, but has a wide line on her back almost back to her hips. I was really torn thinking I might have to consider culling for marking, but fortunately she has given us the opportunity to cull her for disposition. The bull has a white spot the size of a golf ball on his neck, and the cow is short marked, but the genes carry a lot of diversity in marking, obviously.

 

[jkwilson]

Here's a better picture of 466P. I think she is a pretty meaty cow.

And well plumbed to boot!

Always like seeing a cow that can maintain that kind of condition away from the bunk AND put that kind of meat on her calf at the same time. She does a good job of turning grass into steak. There should be an EPD for that.

 

[alexfarms]

This is the same pair taken April 24, 2010, about a week before they went out to grass. My winter feeding program really sucks. Does that make me a Least Cost Producer or a poster boy for animal rights activists?

 

[MF135]

If we are selecting for leg and neck color on feedlot calves that must mean that we are not paying as much attention to REA, FAT, ADG, feed conversion efficiency, etc. Sounds a bit misdirected to me.
And jk - it impacts the sale of breeding animals FOR THE SHOW RING, not for the grill. I guess if that is what your customer wants that's what you give them. A bit of color around the eyes is useful, the other markings are not and further divert us from selecting for traits that DO matter in the beef business. Another example of the division between the show ring and the real world?

This whole line of thinking makes about as much sense as saying an animal with a black hide is automatically superior beef...hogwash. jmho. Jim

Seems to me buyers feel there is a direct correlation between leg/neck color(color in general) and feedlot performance.

 

[MF135]

The cow and the grass is doing a fine job in raising the calf, the cow's not going to win many beauty pageants though. And why would rednecked and redlegged make a calf better, those aren't traditional Hereford markings?

BECAUSE... Neither buyers or show judges like TMW. PERIOD.

 

[KNERSIE]

If we are selecting for leg and neck color on feedlot calves that must mean that we are not paying as much attention to REA, FAT, ADG, feed conversion efficiency, etc. Sounds a bit misdirected to me.
And jk - it impacts the sale of breeding animals FOR THE SHOW RING, not for the grill. I guess if that is what your customer wants that's what you give them. A bit of color around the eyes is useful, the other markings are not and further divert us from selecting for traits that DO matter in the beef business. Another example of the division between the show ring and the real world?

This whole line of thinking makes about as much sense as saying an animal with a black hide is automatically superior beef...hogwash. jmho. Jim

Seems to me buyers feel there is a direct correlation between leg/neck color(color in general) and feedlot performance.

:help: :lol2:

 

[Beef Man]

Agreed a nice pair. We sell 85-90% of our bulls to breed angus cows and most of these customers prefer short marked bulls,a lot of them are only looking for the white face and will definetly select against to much white. The best calf we own at this time has 4 white legs and splash's up on both flanks, he is still abull and will have to work hard to get him sold .