New Hereford heifer-tear her up-pics

[Alan]

Shes yearling (03/07) heifer, weighed 960 lbs the day of the pics. She just happened to be holding her tail to the side this day. All opinions good and bad.

Thanks,
Alan

 

[RVF]

I'll take her. She is nice and long with enough depth. With all that straw it is hard to tell what her feet and legs are like. I think in the first picture she looks like she could be sickle hocked (I know this is my pet peeve). Is her front feet standing in a hole? It appears that her hind end is 2-3 inches higher than her front. If she is in a hole, that would explain her structure.

 

[Alan]

My wife's Boar goats are kidding so I lost my stalls in the barn, that falls under the catagory of "Yes dear" ;-) . So I threw up some panels under the feeding area. The ground is higher in the back by a few inches, cows always seem to move the ground back. The $50/ton hay is cheaper than straw and will help keep her off the dirt and by product until I move her to pasture.

Thanks,
Alan

 

[CPL]

I like her. Like RVF said its hard to tell about her structure, but from everything else she looks good. Who's she out of?

 

[iowafarmer]

She look like she will do well for you. She isn't Sickle hocked i don't think.

 

[bigbull338]

whoa thats 1 heck of a nice polled hereford heifer.an with her weight she is ready to breed.she is long bodied smooth an straight.nice correct legs.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

what kind of weeds are thoses out side there :lol2: i lost my trian of thought. you wanted opinions on the heifer. ..she's a dandy ;-)

 

[texast]

I want one. Can I have her? Naw just kidding she looks fine to me.

 

[I luv herfrds]

Alan you said that the area she was standing was not flat. I would like to see a pic of her on flat ground. The pic makes her look uneven in her top line.
Other then that she is a great looking heifer. Would love to see the offspring she is going to produce.

 

[TEhayandcattle]

She's too pretty to be hereford must want to be a Beefmaster, would like to make arrangements for her to come and visit but probably won't be able to afford the fare for roundtrip. :cboy:

 

[ALACOWMAN]

She's too pretty to be hereford must want to be a Beefmaster, would like to make arrangements for her to come and visit but probably won't be able to afford the fare for roundtrip. :cboy:

i wish all beefmaster's had consistant hereford color pattern's .

 

[DOC HARRIS]

At the risk of stirring the ire of the Hereford breeders here, I will say that this heifer is in beautiful condition, BUT - she is slightly "cow-hocked". Now don't fly of the handle until you take a very hard, unbiased look at the second picture, and THEN look at the side view. In the second picture, the front legs are a little close together, which is possibly why she is appearing cow hocked, aside from the fact that I think that, physiologically, she IS slightly cow-hocked. Not bad, but you did want her to be "torn up"! I dislike that phrase, because most cattle which are as genetically and phenotypically well put together as this one is cannot be "torn up". She is a very well constructed heifer, but the one criticism that I would place on her is that she is too large, at this age, for her to be as profitable a mature cow as she should be, at six years of age after having three calves. She will weigh considerably more than 1250 or 1300 pounds at that stage of her life, and the current thinking in many corners of the beef production business is - that is too much.

Now thinking on what is a reality situation, you will probably get a higher premium for her if you are selling to registered breeders, and if her pedigree is as remarkably attractive as I assume it is. But - I am not as familiar with Hereford pedigrees currently as most of you Hereford breeders are, so I claim 'Breed Ignorance' in this case.

But don't "tear her up!" She is a beauty!

...but slightly cow hocked! Sickle hocked?! Not enough to discredit her. Being cow hocked is cause enough to make her appear sickle hocked.

Look at her again!

DOC HARRIS

 

[Alan]

As Paul Harvey says, "now for the rest of the story". Doc, I'm honored to have and very much appreciate your, what I consider, expert eye and opinion on this heifer. She is a Moler daughter and yes very much fitted up for the show ring. I got her at what I think is a cheap price since Moler semen is going for $500 a straw. I'm currrently weaning her off grain and onto grass, She's really is a moderate framed animal (I think). We'll see what see looks like "with her working clothes on". I will take to heart your comment about "tearing her up".

I luv Herfrds, She does have a nice straight top line, I wish I would have noticed while taking the pics that I had her standing down hill. The ground is 3 to 4 inches higher under her rear legs. I'll get some more pics with her working clothes on in a few months.

I thinking of using Rib Eye for her first calf, other thoughts are SHF Progress, M326, or 242, but leaning toward Rib Eye. I have all these in my tank.... My wife won't let by any more semen.. :cry2:

Any thoughts on one of these bulls you would use.

Thanks,
Alan

 

[S&S Farms]

Alan
I would say you would be safe with any of those bulls. My Progress calves averaged close to 60lbs this year out of first calf heifers. My Ribeyes averaged 66 lbs out of cows did not use 242 last year or M326 but have a nice two year old out of him we are using. Bred all mine heifers to Ribeye this year Radar's , Marshal's and one Reality heifer.

Jeff

 

[greenwillowhereford II]

I think she looks like a good heifer. There is no "perfect" animal, especially not in everyone's eyes, but this one should be a keeper IMO. The mature size possibility would bother me more in Texas than in Oregon. The same genetics WILL be larger the further north you are, nature's way of compensating for the colder winters and the need for body mass in them.

 

[Joy of Texas]

I think she's a nice heifer.She should work well for you.

 

[*Cowgirl*]

I really like her, - and I'm not a huge Hereford fan - I think she would be successful not only as registered momma, but also could do well as a club calf/commercial producer.

Alan - if you're gonna kick her out for being "considerably larger than 1300 pounds," let me know ;-)