My 3 bull calves, and some replacement heifer candidates

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Nesikep

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I kept 3 bull calves intact this year... I'm going to have a bit of a time choosing which one I keep.. they all have their strong and weak points
They're hard to get good pics of

Ares is the one nursing Cenci, maternal brother to Zeus, I got a few calves from him this year and they're pretty good looking... Ares has the deepest chest
Pan is the close one, Chroma is the momma, he's just smooth all around
Tommy is on the right, Prada (full sister to Chroma) is the momma, she had the twins last year, and Tommy is the biggest calf this year I think, definitely has the most length
20210610_104928.jpg

Ares
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Pan
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Prada and Tommy
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Here's a couple of Zeus's heifer calves, I'll probably keep the first two

Itchy
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Scratchy
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Verossa, she looked great younger, but I'm liking her less as she grows, probably sell her... kinda skittish too
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And this heifer is a wildcard, not sure of the sire, Momma is Zeus' 7/8th sister... I like her build, she might stick around (Lilly)
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This one (Poppy) is impossible to get a side shot of, she's always right up to me getting attention, Momma is Kama (Cenci's full sister), so she's pretty much a full sister to Ares, Steer in the background is "Chunker".. he's from Zeus
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3J is Java, she's registerably purebred Gelbvieh, her sister (from Hector) is looking real good as a yearling
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4J with momma.. Not fond of this one at all, not a flattering pic but that wouldn't help, she just seems narrow throughout
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If I needed to keep one more, I could consider this one (Supra), her sister is my "Ooops" momma, Not exactly the build I'm looking for but I think would make a fine cow
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Sell the steer (bull) calves and keep the heifers. Maintain or improve your good gene pool with new blood.
Good looking pasture. You are in a beautiful area. Have you given any consideration to rotational grazing?
Have a good year.
 
Sell the steer (bull) calves and keep the heifers. Maintain or improve your good gene pool with new blood.
Good looking pasture. You are in a beautiful area. Have you given any consideration to rotational grazing?
Have a good year.


I don't believe Nesi has brought any outside Genetics into the herd for a while.
 
Just my two cents, I think a lot of people sell their cattle short and put too much faith in other's breeding programs. If what you have works in your environment and management and you know all the details about the animals history, then that cuts out some unknown variables.
 
I don't believe Nesi has brought any outside Genetics into the herd for a while.
No, I got a new bull last year, the calves, all the bull calves are from the new bull, as well as the # 2,3,4,5 heifers... I kinda alternate, keep one or two of mine, get a new bull, rinse, repeat. Try and save some money by using some of mine, then dig deeper for the next purchased bull


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I quit choosing replacement heifers a few years ago, I sort off the spooky and the ugly and turn the rest with bulls for 30 days or less. The most fertile and adapted to my management get bred the rest get sold.
Don't knock ugly. Irma was my ugliest cow ever: nappy coat, short legs, fat, little ears and her eyes always looked bloodshot. Woof!!! But she was a prolific breeder, raised surprisingly pretty calves and I kept most of her heifers. Plus, she was super sweet & easy to work. Good looks are sometimes overrated.
 
We sort off the nutty ones, and the ones that don't grow within the average of the rest in the group. Always have a few. Then we look them over good. Mostly keep them for a few more months once weaned, and see how they are growing. Plus the market will dictate what/how many we are selling. Got 20 out for the bull and going to add about 6-8 more that are a little younger/smaller... but should have good growth by the time they calve. Then might sell a few as breds or with new calves... all according to the markets. Beef first calf heifers were 15-2200 this past year.... can't get 1500 for a top notch dairy heifer anymore. But at that, we could be a little more picky and sell a few and make a bit. We also buy some cattle.... and 6-8 wt heifers are comparatively cheap so have a few that are out to get bred... when you can buy a 7 wt for 80 cents... that $5-600 for a ready to breed heifer, that makes her only costing about $11-1200 as a heavy bred or with a new calf.... so potential for a profit. Or keep and cull an older cow for $5-800 and have a cheap replacement. Have to play the market the best way to make it pay.
 
Don't knock ugly. Irma was my ugliest cow ever: nappy coat, short legs, fat, little ears and her eyes always looked bloodshot. Woof!!! But she was a prolific breeder, raised surprisingly pretty calves and I kept most of her heifers. Plus, she was super sweet & easy to work. Good looks are sometimes overrated.
Prada (Tommy's momma) isn't the prettiest cow, a bit boney, but she sure makes good calves... Prada has exactly the same build and size as her great grandmacows nov 14 05 007.jpg

Her full sister took after grandma instead.. (The one with the bull in the previous post)cows nov 14 05 003.jpg
 
We sort off the nutty ones, and the ones that don't grow within the average of the rest in the group. Always have a few. Then we look them over good. Mostly keep them for a few more months once weaned, and see how they are growing. Plus the market will dictate what/how many we are selling. Got 20 out for the bull and going to add about 6-8 more that are a little younger/smaller... but should have good growth by the time they calve. Then might sell a few as breds or with new calves... all according to the markets. Beef first calf heifers were 15-2200 this past year.... can't get 1500 for a top notch dairy heifer anymore. But at that, we could be a little more picky and sell a few and make a bit. We also buy some cattle.... and 6-8 wt heifers are comparatively cheap so have a few that are out to get bred... when you can buy a 7 wt for 80 cents... that $5-600 for a ready to breed heifer, that makes her only costing about $11-1200 as a heavy bred or with a new calf.... so potential for a profit. Or keep and cull an older cow for $5-800 and have a cheap replacement. Have to play the market the best way to make it pay.

That makes good sense.. I live 3 good hours away (one way) from the sale barn, so I don't go there often, it's not worth going for just one or two unless I have to go there anyhow for shopping
 
Yeah, wrong color for here too, but I like the reds as they are better graziers in the heat..... And the reds and rwf will give mostly black, bwf, or real dark reddish black calves... so most all the red & rwf heifers get bred instead of giving them away at the sale.
 
I like reds too but black brings more green in N Al
around here they don't, or perhaps only in certain cases, but I've topped the sale with mine once in a while, so it's certainly not a hard rule.
Thing with auctions is there have to be TWO people who want something to get a good price
 
If u keep scratchy. Ya HAVE to keep itchy..

Cant have itchy without scratchy!
That would be terrible.

Always like seeing your pictures, animals and pasture. Beautiful country up there!
Yesterday I nearly got beat up by Scratchy and Poppy, they were hyper playful and didn't want me going anywhere, as soon as I'd walk they'd bawl at my boots, buck and jump, and try to take me out at the knees... those two are definitely the most excitable
 
Yesterday I nearly got beat up by Scratchy and Poppy, they were hyper playful and didn't want me going anywhere, as soon as I'd walk they'd bawl at my boots, buck and jump, and try to take me out at the knees... those two are definitely the most excitable
My heifer Ziva has FINALLY settled down. She was the worst about that!
Shes a whole different animal now that shes a mama. That bucking and jumping really worried me for a while. Dang 1100 pound heifer acting like that.... sheesh
 

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