auctionboy
Well-known member
What do you think of my registered jersey heifer? She is 18 months old, but not bred yet. Cant get the pictures to work.
Judge my jersey heifer
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hillsdown
Well-known member
auctionboy":2jvyn514 said:
WTF
auctionboy
Well-known member
If anybody is interested in a Jersey heifer in western NY pm me and I can send you a picture to a e-mail account. Thanks.
regolith
Well-known member
What about mine?
I'd love to see other people's Jersey heifers.
I'd love to see other people's Jersey heifers.
auctionboy
Well-known member
Mine is much better
hillsdown
Well-known member
Get a photo bucket account and post it here.. I would LOVE to see your heifer...
It is really easy to post with photobucket..
BUT i will stick with Holsteins all the same.. :heart:
It is really easy to post with photobucket..
BUT i will stick with Holsteins all the same.. :heart:
auctionboy
Well-known member
auctionboy
Well-known member
Wow it worked!!!!! She is about #750. Judge away.
novaman
Well-known member
18 months old and only 750 pounds? Something isn't right here. I'm not familiar with Jerseys but she should be heavier than that I believe. Also, she should be bred by now. She is going to be over 27 months old before she would have her first calf.auctionboy":vwoxwtm5 said:
auctionboy
Well-known member
She might be 800. Nothing is wrong, I just didn't have a bull. I was hoping people would judge her body characteristics not my management. In a perfect world I would have ai'd her, but things don't always work out perfect.
regolith
Well-known member
Depending on her genetics, her weight is probably fine. My Jerseys have a mature weight of around 900 lb, and at 24 months are doing well to be 800.
hillsdown
Well-known member
regolith":2g48hwie said:
I have to agree with that. As far as judging her, the pic is not very good, it makes her look like she has a terrible top line and not strong dairy character. She looks like her height at front end is extremely low. Cannot tell the feet and legs very well, nor the rump from the pic either. Her chest width looks to be intermidiate to wide (which is a good thing btw) and her body depth looks to be intermidiate as well, especially for her size. I would like more pics so we can see her loin strenght and a pic from behind to see her rear legs and rump better.
Some breeders wait until 18 months to breed, so not to worry about that AB. Get her AI'd asap and post a pic again when she starts to fill out a bit more.
francismilker
Well-known member
It you want her judged, stand her the way a judge would be looking at her in the arena. Side view with her head up and feet in a good stance. Rear view of the same. Make sure you've got her topline straight for the rear view pic.
From what I can see in this pic she seems to be too long legged for her length of body. I'm not concerned about her weight though. I've got some cows that never really put it on until a few months after their first calf. Try to get her bred so that she's fresh at the right time for shows in your area though. I like to show them when their between two and six months fresh. It gives the udder edema time to reside on the jerseys and for their rear end swelling to go down without them showing too much sign of current pregnancy in their lower belly. A pregnant, grass-looking-gut is detrimental in the show ring.
From what I can see in this pic she seems to be too long legged for her length of body. I'm not concerned about her weight though. I've got some cows that never really put it on until a few months after their first calf. Try to get her bred so that she's fresh at the right time for shows in your area though. I like to show them when their between two and six months fresh. It gives the udder edema time to reside on the jerseys and for their rear end swelling to go down without them showing too much sign of current pregnancy in their lower belly. A pregnant, grass-looking-gut is detrimental in the show ring.
I've been judging dairy cattle for about 10 years so maybe I can help you both out.
As for the First heifer, she doesn't have a whole lot going for her. She's short in the neck, weak in the chine, and low in the pins. She doesn't have enough depth and shes weak in the front being narrow in the chest floor, shallow in the heart, and pinched in the crops. She's also not dairy enough having round withers and a super coarse leg. If I were you, I would put her hard on grain and sell her for freezer beef because she does not carry the traits that you would want to introduce into a herd.
For the second heifer, I think she shows a little more maternal value. Shes longer bodied, deeper ribbed, and has a much more desirable bone in the leg being flatter and finer. I do think she gets just a touch straight in the leg from the side and she looks like she might hock in when you look at her legs from the rear. She carries way to much extra flesh, I'd like to see her drop about 70 or 80 pounds. She could also be cleaner in the neck since she gets a little throaty. I'd also like to see her be a little harder over the top and just a touch higher in the pins to level her out.
My suggestion to both of you, neither of these heifers are anything to be excited about. If you want to use them to their full value, go to a local jersey breeder with proven stock and buy an embryo from them out of a good cow and a better bull. Use them as recips and hope for a heifer calf. This is going to be your best bet to make anything out of them quickly.
IMO
As for the First heifer, she doesn't have a whole lot going for her. She's short in the neck, weak in the chine, and low in the pins. She doesn't have enough depth and shes weak in the front being narrow in the chest floor, shallow in the heart, and pinched in the crops. She's also not dairy enough having round withers and a super coarse leg. If I were you, I would put her hard on grain and sell her for freezer beef because she does not carry the traits that you would want to introduce into a herd.
For the second heifer, I think she shows a little more maternal value. Shes longer bodied, deeper ribbed, and has a much more desirable bone in the leg being flatter and finer. I do think she gets just a touch straight in the leg from the side and she looks like she might hock in when you look at her legs from the rear. She carries way to much extra flesh, I'd like to see her drop about 70 or 80 pounds. She could also be cleaner in the neck since she gets a little throaty. I'd also like to see her be a little harder over the top and just a touch higher in the pins to level her out.
My suggestion to both of you, neither of these heifers are anything to be excited about. If you want to use them to their full value, go to a local jersey breeder with proven stock and buy an embryo from them out of a good cow and a better bull. Use them as recips and hope for a heifer calf. This is going to be your best bet to make anything out of them quickly.
IMO
regolith
Well-known member
Er... you mixed up the heifers? I'd guess mine is the second then - not sure how you could tell so much from the photo of the other.
Mine became two heifers, evening before last :banana: :banana:
I personally think her weight is perfect for being a week pre-calving, and that's the main thing I liked about that photo - she's well-conditioned. I'll wait a couple months to judge her on anything else because so far I've been disappointed with several of her paternal half-sisters. She looks stronger than most of them, and I think will do better, production wise.
She's by Shepherd's Noontime, out of a Manhatten dam. Only two of the 'best' Jersey bulls in the country... I have a couple nice Manhatten daughters, several more very average ones. This one's dam is what I'd call 'very average'.
She behaved well for her first milking and that makes her five times as good as any Nevvy or Patrick daughter in the herd.
Mine became two heifers, evening before last :banana: :banana:
I personally think her weight is perfect for being a week pre-calving, and that's the main thing I liked about that photo - she's well-conditioned. I'll wait a couple months to judge her on anything else because so far I've been disappointed with several of her paternal half-sisters. She looks stronger than most of them, and I think will do better, production wise.
She's by Shepherd's Noontime, out of a Manhatten dam. Only two of the 'best' Jersey bulls in the country... I have a couple nice Manhatten daughters, several more very average ones. This one's dam is what I'd call 'very average'.
She behaved well for her first milking and that makes her five times as good as any Nevvy or Patrick daughter in the herd.
hillsdown
Well-known member
Regolith congrats on the heifer calf, makes it all worth it doesn't it...
I agree about the pics, the first heifer pic you cannot tell anything from it and your pic she looks in very good condition for being heavy bred exactly how I like to see a dairy cow not too fat and not too skinny. I have never ever been a fan of the skin and bones look ,not even for a heavy milker and these cattle that are skin and bones but milk only 40-50 pounds a day are pathetic ;either they are pieces of crap or are being starved.
Also there is a difference between classifying and judging. I will take a classifiers opinion over a judges any day.. ;-)
And I do not mean to offend you Spencer .I have just been to disappointed when buying a beauty of a cow in the show ring and she turns into a dud in the parlor, can't pay the bills with crappy milkers.
An ugly cow milking 100lbs a day is way more valuable than a pretty cow milking 50lbs a day..
I agree about the pics, the first heifer pic you cannot tell anything from it and your pic she looks in very good condition for being heavy bred exactly how I like to see a dairy cow not too fat and not too skinny. I have never ever been a fan of the skin and bones look ,not even for a heavy milker and these cattle that are skin and bones but milk only 40-50 pounds a day are pathetic ;either they are pieces of crap or are being starved.
Also there is a difference between classifying and judging. I will take a classifiers opinion over a judges any day.. ;-)
And I do not mean to offend you Spencer .I have just been to disappointed when buying a beauty of a cow in the show ring and she turns into a dud in the parlor, can't pay the bills with crappy milkers.
An ugly cow milking 100lbs a day is way more valuable than a pretty cow milking 50lbs a day..
hillsdown,
I agree with you 1000%. Being a dairy man myself, milk is ultimately the goal and anybody is gonna take a cow milking 100 lbs over one milking 50. The only problem there is that a cow that lives to be 12 years old is going to make you more money than one that you get 3 lactations out of and then you have to cull. Thats where the judging comes in because a cow with "type" will hold up better than on that just milks like a train.
I agree with you 1000%. Being a dairy man myself, milk is ultimately the goal and anybody is gonna take a cow milking 100 lbs over one milking 50. The only problem there is that a cow that lives to be 12 years old is going to make you more money than one that you get 3 lactations out of and then you have to cull. Thats where the judging comes in because a cow with "type" will hold up better than on that just milks like a train.
novaman
Well-known member
spenser260":z7ljwuum said:
You may be right but I've got several old cows that look ugly as can be but they are some of my best milkers. I still don't quite understand what all goes into type so my comments are limited as far as that goes.
TexasBred
Well-known member
novaman":1f1ybsf5 said:
Nova, "typey" was a word I use to hear often at dairy auctions. What was "typey" for one area was crap in another area. When we begin dairying we bred strictly for increaed milk production, then started breeding for stronger better feet and legs and then fancy udders. Regardless of conditions it seemed we still always maintained about a 30% cull rate determined by one thing or another and few cattle ever made it to their fifth lactation.
