milk epd?

[ousoonerfan22]

Will a cow with a 12 milk epd have enough milk to raise a decent calf?
I don't know much about epd's so cows that you've had in your herd with small bags and struggle to raise a good calf would those have a low milk epd?

 

[cow pollinater]

A 12 milk epd should be more than plenty to raise a good calf. An EPD of 12 can swing a few pounds depending on how much % reliability you're dealing with but it should stay above average.
A real basic explination of epd's is that they start out as an average of the two parents and then as new information about progeny comes along the EPD changes to show it. So, for example, if you mate a bull with a milk EPD of 10 to a cow with a milk EPD of 10, you'd get a calf with an EPD of ten and you could expect it to be fairly reliably a 10... However, if you mate a Bull with a milk EPD of 20 with a cow with an EPD of 0, your average is 10 but the reality could be anywhere from 0-20 and we won't know until we see how future generations perform.
In your example, the cows that struggle MAY have good milk EPD's on paper but the reality is that they're not living up to their average.

 

[bigag03]

EPDs are breed specific, so your question cannot be answered properly until the breed (and breed avg EPD) is known. Also, Milk EPD will be, by far, the least reliable EPD because of the way it is calculated. It is not calculated in pounds of milk; it is calculated in pounds of weaned calf due to maternal ability. Breaking down weaning weight into pounds due to growth and pounds due to milk and maternal ability is one of the biggest estimates used in any EPD calculation. With higher accuracy, the EPD can become more reliable, but for most cows you are better off knowing something about the cows in her pedigree.

 

[ousoonerfan22]

I bought some registered black angus that have 12-20 milk epds.
Most of my hereford/angus cross cows have good bags and raise good calves,I've culled the ones that didn't.
So I've been told to watch out that I don't choose a bull with a high milk epd and end up with heifers that have too much milk.
What is considered a high milk epd..... upper 20's or 30's?

 

[Oldtimer]

I bought some registered black angus that have 12-20 milk epds.
Most of my hereford/angus cross cows have good bags and raise good calves,I've culled the ones that didn't.
So I've been told to watch out that I don't choose a bull with a high milk epd and end up with heifers that have too much milk.
What is considered a high milk epd..... upper 20's or 30's?

That also depends on enviroment, management, weather variables, etc... If you have lots of feed available- and the cattle are well taken care of and supplemented you can/may get away with higher numbers- and higher milking cows... If you live in any area where feed is scarcer or drought conditions are prone- and you don't supplement your cows- you may want to stick with the lower numbers...

Where you often run into troubles is with the higher milking cows coming off pasture in bad condition- and being open/late bred...This shows up often with 1st or second calvers that come in bred late or open...

For me- I like to keep everything in moderation- which means the Milk EPD on both cows and bulls at between a range of 10 and 20-- with 15 being perfect...

And like bigag said- its an unreliable number... I have bought heifers that had 15 EPD (that came from an area that had several years of drought)- and after 3 or 4 calves that were raised in the good moisture/good pasture conditions we've had the last few years- which allowed some good weaning weights- had their Milk EPD raise to 20... But I know that could quickly change back if we go back into our drought conditions we will again get someday...
The reason I don't want to start out with too high or too low ....