Large or medium frame cows

[denoginnizer]

Most cattlemen in my area prefer large frame cows. They always say that they are selling beef by the pound and that large frame cows should have the biggest calves.
Some of the univ folks disagree . They say that medium framed cows eat less and will therefore cost less and this will provide extra money.

 

[Scotty]

Most cattlemen in my area prefer large frame cows. They always say that they are selling beef by the pound and that large frame cows should have the biggest calves.
Some of the univ folks disagree . They say that medium framed cows eat less and will therefore cost less and this will provide extra money.

I agree with the university folks. If you want to add pounds IMO you don't have to add frame size. For example, the two Brangus cows I USED to own grew calves no faster or bigger than their smaller counterparts. IMO calves from them are not as sought after becasue it requires more days on feed than the smaller type. Buyers know what to pay for those fraimy calves.


Scotty

 

[andybob]

Our local performance testing group had some comparative research done amongst the members,the medium framed breeds produced more beef/acre than the heavier composites under similar management and grazing conditions. The heavier breeds had higher maintenance costs, making the mediums more profitable overall. For feedlot sales, the option of top crossing a large framed breed onto the medium cows was a viable option.

 

[Texas PaPaw]

When considering large cow vs medium framed cows consider the following:

Cows eat in proportion to their body weight example 40-1250lb cows weigh (& eat) the same as 50-1000lb cows, therefore the same feed resources would be necessary for either group of cows.

Assuming a 90% weaned calf rate the calf sales would be as follows:

50 medium frame cows= 45 weaned calves @ 400lb=18,000lb x $1.35 =$24,300 gross income

40 large frame cows= 36 weaned calves @ 500lb=18,000lb x $1.25 = $22,500 gross income


The greater price per pound for the same poundage of smaller but more numerous calves is a market reality. The price spread may vary from year to year, but is extremely rare (possibly for a brief time during a huge grain price increase)that the heavier calves (of same grade) will sell at par with the lighter.

Just something to chew on.

Regards

Brock

 

[jcarkie]

a good rule of thumb is to go by % of cow weight weaned. i have two 1100 lb cows that have weaned 600 lbs each and a 1300 lb cow that weaned 550 she is gone.i like at least 50% or more calves. i had a cow less than 1000 lbs that weaned a 690 lb steer, and she rebred on time she earns her keep.

 

[Beefy]

medium. i'm feeding cows. they are feeding the calves.

 

[CattleAnnie]

Reading this post got me to thinking about the whole frame size issue when related to profit, and although I figured that my cows are medium frame (1400 - 1500lbs), would the regional size difference make them large framed in the southern climes?

Just curious.


Take care.

 

[Beefy]

i would consider your cows enormous-humongous. most of ours are 900-1200 and i consider them medium. would like to get smaller..around 1000.

 

[CattleAnnie]

Unreal. Up here it's hard for an auctioneer to catch a bid on bred heifers that aren't close to 1000lbs.

My dad used to have some big cows. Back fifteen or so years ago he had purebred Simmentals. Some of the cows weighed over a ton when he sold them (2000lbs). Those were some BIG mommas. Gentle giants though.


Take care.

 

[Beefy]

i dont even want a bull to weigh a ton...

 

[sidney411]

Our bulls are probably 1400 - 1500 lbs. Our cows are between 900 - 1200. I'm breeding my heifers at 650-700. But then again, my weaned calves are probably weighing a lot less then yours are CA. Our cows down here don't need all that extra insulation.

 

[dun]

Weight is really a pretty lousey criteria for judging size. A heavy 5 frame may very well out weigh a thin 6.5 frame. It would all have to be adjusted to body condition and then judged from there.
There also isn;t a 1:1 correlation of feed requirements and weight. A cow that is 10% heavier then another doesn;t eat 10% more.

 

[bigbull338]

farm size has todo with 2 things.the number of cows you can put on a place.an the lbs of calves you wean from those cows.say you have 100acs of grass.thats 150,000lbs.now you stock at 1500lbs pre ac.so if you have 1500lb cows you can only put 75 pairs on it.where the 1500lb rate is 100pair.75 will wean 68 500lb calves.thats 34000lbs or 340lb pre ac of weaned calf.100 cows wean 90 calves.that 45000lb of calves.wich is 450lbs pre ac.wich is plus 110lb pre ac off of the lighter cows.wich is $110 an ac more profit.now for the cash money.$36900 of 75 cows.an 49500 off off 90 calves.in the end its plus $13000.scott

 

[Dave]

I agree with Annie that there is regional difference in size. In general the further north you get the bigger the cattle get. What is considered medium in the south would be small in the north.
I also agree with Dun in there is not a straight 1 to 1 correlation of feed consumption to weight. The difference in feed consuption between a herd of 1,000 pound cows and a herd of 1,200 pound cows isn't nearly as much as shown here. There is a difference but not this drastic.
Bred cows that weigh less than 1,000 pounds are real cheap around here.
Dave

 

[CKC1586]

We like our cows tall enough to not drag their groceries in the mud and snow.

 

[Texas PaPaw]

Check this link out

http://www.cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_b/b-217.html

Regards

Brock

 

[dph]

jcarkie was right on. You can't talk about cow size and efficency until you know the weights off their calves. It is impossible. If the large frame cow is weaning a larger percent of her body weight in calf pounds, she is worth keeping regardless of how big she is. Dun made good points as well. Getting rid of a big cow, just because she is a big cow, makes little sense if you don't know what size of calf she's weaning compared to the others.

 

[Beefy]

that tends to be the problem, the BIG cows arent fertile enough to stick around. this is the problem i ran into with a lot of charolais and limousins.

 

[hillbilly]

Our cows frame went from a 5 to a 7 in two generations.
There weight went from 1100-1300 to 1500-1700.
Hay consumtion went from 3.5 to 5.7 bales per winter.

I should have known better but I kept replacements from
High ww & yw big framed bulls. boo boo.

Cattle annie needs big cows hillbillys don't.

We were putting more and more fertilizer on a still running short
on grass during our annual drought.

We were selling average 60 more pounds of calf per cow but
to continue needed to reduce our herd....

We sold them all and who ever bought them I'm sure is happy
with them.

Earlier in this thread was a notable sugestion. If you want to
wean more pounds put a bull on your medium framed cows for that purpose...but I would add this, don't keep replacements
on those years.

hillbilly