Grippie
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Trying to improve my herd. Are these good enough looking grade calves? I really like em but I'm probably not very objective...
Murray Grey Hereford Cross
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Trying to improve my herd. Are these good enough looking grade calves? I really like em but I'm probably not very objective...
OP
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Grippie
Well-known member
Oh yeah, by the way, the top one is a steer and the bottom one is a heifer. They are both about 3 weeks old.
At that age it takes a pretty dreadfull calf to not look good. These aren't dreadfull calves so about the best I would say is they show promise. Until they're 3-4 months old they're in the promise category, then you can start to see how they're really put together.
dun
dun
OP
OP
Grippie
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Ok. Maybe I'll post another pic in a few months...
Like I said, I want to improve my herd. Been in dairy most of life and I know what I like to see in a milk cow. I have some learning to do with beef.
Like I said, I want to improve my herd. Been in dairy most of life and I know what I like to see in a milk cow. I have some learning to do with beef.
Grippie":cw3wm0v0 said:
In reality, there isn;t that much different other then muscle between the 2. It still starts with the feet and legs and progresses from there. We don;t make any final decision on keeping heifers till weaning time and see how they look after a couple of weeks. That's when you can remove the cows influence to see if the heifer will be able to perform satisfactorily under your managment scheme.
It's worked for us over the years
dun
clubbiebreeder
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I know I'm like 14 years late to this discussion but I'm trying to breed for an efficient club calf that isn't just all bone and hair for showing, right now I have Murray Grey's and their specific background is known for really nice carcass rates and I'm trying to find crosses that would be what I'm looking for, would the herefords help with their structure and popularity because right now all of the judges I've been judged by tend to kind of be biased to herefords, right now I have my cows ai bred to limousin (it's just kind of an experiment bc limousins are also popular where I'm at) so I'm wondering if that would work out, if y'all somehow are able to respond, thank you! Also if you have any other breed recommendations I am happy to learn! Thank you!
clubbiebreeder
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I know I'm like 14 years late to this discussion but I'm trying to breed for an efficient club calf that isn't just all bone and hair for showing, right now I have Murray Grey's and their specific background is known for really nice carcass rates and I'm trying to find crosses that would be what I'm looking for, would the herefords help with their structure and popularity because right now all of the judges I've been judged by tend to kind of be biased to herefords, right now I have my cows ai bred to limousin (it's just kind of an experiment bc limousins are also popular where I'm at) so I'm wondering if that would work out, if y'all somehow are able to respond, thank you! Also if you have any other breed recommendations
Would be great if you would go to your profile and add where you are from.
clubbiebreeder
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Oops I didn't mean to post that twice
clubbiebreeder
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I don't know how to do that quite yet, I just found this website like 20 minutes ago but I'm from Montana
puzzled in oregon
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I like the Murray Greys, but my experience with Hereford x Murray Grey was huge calves, wound up losing both calves. Told myself I would not do that blend again. Like with all breeds, there can be variations within the breed. The bulls I used were not light boned but were lighter boned than the Murray Grey my cousin used. Never had any calving problems with my angus cross cows. The Murray Grey will produce nice calves. The breeder I bought from was marketing some of his calves as club calves.
clubbiebreeder
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My Murray grey cows have super light birth weight calves, and I know people with hereford bulls that have light birth weights, or were you meaning that they just didn't work out altogether? Also the breeder that marketed as club calves, were they the cross or straight Murray grey? If I don't find a good cross I probably just want to go straight Murray grey, I just wanted something with a good structure and a little bit more muscle, bc right now my straight Murray grey calves are kind of lacking muscle so I'd have to work extra hard to out that on them, but other than that I absolutely love the Murray grey breed, probably more than Angus
puzzled in oregon
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The one hereford I put with the Murray Grey bull was a first calf heifer and she had a huge calf, that did not survive. Which made me cautious of doing a cross with the hereford again. The other was a hereford cow that had calved twice before, I don't know what happened exactly but she lost the calf, and it was much bigger than she normally had. Just one of those experiences that can make a person cautious of repeating that cross. The breeder I bought from had well muscled calves and was running straight Murrey Grey bulls and cows. The calves my cows dropped from the Murray Grey were comparable in height to angus calves but thicker built and the only calving problems I ever had while using the Murray Greys were the two I mentioned above. I would look at some other Murray Grey bulls and see what is out there. Both the bulls I had at different times had nice temperaments and I got quiet calves. Of course the cross you choose to make will hinge partly on what people are looking for.
clubbiebreeder
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Does the breeder you're talking abt sell semen from his bulls I would for sure be interested in them if he does? Only ones I've seen tend to not be so muscled, and I don't want to go thru years of selective breeding for that just for a few good muscled Murray Grey's
puzzled in oregon
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I will check and let you know.
I would like to know the pedigree of that Murray Grey bull.
I have been looking at bigger birthweight sires, but I have not purchased any yet. My cows are different sizes. A few are bigger and older; I think they would handle a bigger calf. Spectrum Farm - Corey has a frame score of 8 ...sounds like a monster. Bottlesford Kudos KPN K18 has a heavier birthweight and is still available in the USA. Kudos is sold out in other countries.
puzzled in oregon
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clubbiebreeder
In the meantime look at these
Keighlians Wensleydale
Weight at 11 1/2 months: 500kg (1100 lbs)
Wensleydale is a grandson of Lochaber-Braes Diplomat (featured above) through the well known bull, Newfields Masterpeice, who is considered to be one of Diplomat's greatest sons. Wensleydale's mother is Oakley Madge 277th, whose pedigree is a complete outcross to anything else in the United States. Wensleydale is a moderate frame bull with lots of muscle and an excellent disposition. His calves have shown the same length, thickness, and muscle expression that he does. They grow well and have a nice temperament. Wensleydale has won several Grand Champions and Supreme Champions as both a calf and as a mature bull. He is shown here at 9 years old, still sound and in top form.
Semen Available $25 per straw
In the meantime look at these
Keighlians Wensleydale
Weight at 11 1/2 months: 500kg (1100 lbs)
Wensleydale is a grandson of Lochaber-Braes Diplomat (featured above) through the well known bull, Newfields Masterpeice, who is considered to be one of Diplomat's greatest sons. Wensleydale's mother is Oakley Madge 277th, whose pedigree is a complete outcross to anything else in the United States. Wensleydale is a moderate frame bull with lots of muscle and an excellent disposition. His calves have shown the same length, thickness, and muscle expression that he does. They grow well and have a nice temperament. Wensleydale has won several Grand Champions and Supreme Champions as both a calf and as a mature bull. He is shown here at 9 years old, still sound and in top form.
Semen Available $25 per straw
TwoByrdsMG
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@clubbiebreeder @puzzled in oregon
If you like Wensleydale but want a more consistent quality to the calves- Locust Grove Ranch has a son of his named Delmonico with some Monarch Oak Extra on the dam side that has very consistent calf quality.
Hays at @Backbone Ranch has a good silver bull also named General that he posts pictures on here. Moderate framed calves with excellent shape- we also got a good bull calf this year out of this bull!
Another breeder to contact if you want to add muscle volume and shape is Eagles Run. The bull we have used there is Eagles Run Just Because which we have so far only gotten bulls from. One we kept as a bull and the other was taken as a 4H steer since my buyer fell in love with him. Not huge framed calves but thick, stocky, balanced calves.
Here is the one we kept a bull who sold to a new breeder in the Portland, OR area.
If you like Wensleydale but want a more consistent quality to the calves- Locust Grove Ranch has a son of his named Delmonico with some Monarch Oak Extra on the dam side that has very consistent calf quality.
Hays at @Backbone Ranch has a good silver bull also named General that he posts pictures on here. Moderate framed calves with excellent shape- we also got a good bull calf this year out of this bull!
Another breeder to contact if you want to add muscle volume and shape is Eagles Run. The bull we have used there is Eagles Run Just Because which we have so far only gotten bulls from. One we kept as a bull and the other was taken as a 4H steer since my buyer fell in love with him. Not huge framed calves but thick, stocky, balanced calves.
Here is the one we kept a bull who sold to a new breeder in the Portland, OR area.
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clubbiebreeder
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How old is the guy in the picture that's being brushed (I don't know if they're the same age)
