older cow with bad bag..but new heifer calf...what are the odds of her passing bad bag to new calf?
- Thread starter RNW
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kenny thomas
Well-known member
It is a genetic trait but if the cow is older maybe her calf will be older before its a problem. Or maybe the bull she was bred to will correct it some. But it is genetic so possible.
50/50Farms
Well-known member
Well, if you're honest you'll be selling her as a slaughter heifer. You have two choices, imo. Sell her for what she brings as a slaughter heifer, or keep her, let her give you some calves, and sell her as a slaughter cow when she's older. She didn't cost you anything, so unless you're overstocked then she'll make you money.
redcowsrule33
Well-known member
In my experience, pretty good odds the calf will have some version of her dam's udder but not always. I have two full sisters whose dam, granddam and great granddam were all phenomenal calf raisers but they ended up being culled late in life for poor udders. One is being culled this year at the age of 7 as I am afraid that if her udder gets any worse I will have a bottle calf. The other has a nice udder that looks like it should hold well at the age of 6. I have had the same experience with another cow family.
coachg
Well-known member
Possible she can inherit her mom's bag but not always . How old is the cow ? If she is 10 + it could just be wear and tear . The ligaments that help support the udder get stretched especially by a heavy milker . If she's been a good producer I'd take a chance on the heifer .
Son of Butch
Well-known member
udder traits heritability is roughly 1/3 inherited 2/3 environment, mastitis, injury ect.
thank you
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
I would consider selling the pair and re investing the funds.
fnfarms1
Well-known member
This would be my vote. Sell the pair at weaning and buy back a bred heifer or 2, depending how they sell.
clovlanfarms
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farmerjan
Well-known member
15 month old thread... I think the OP probably made some decision a while back....
Yup. But I'll chime in with my 2 cents. Three-year-old cow had her 2nd calf this morning, a beautiful, big heifer. And the calf can't nurse her enormous bottle teats. Gave the calf a bottle of colostrum replacer, just to be sure, and got her latched on. Which lasted all of 30 seconds before mama kicked her off. Okay, give it some time. Went out this afternoon and the calf still hadn't nursed. Another bottle. And the calf still wanted more, so tried to get her latched on again. Fail - and I darn near got my teeth knocked out. They're at the lake and not remotely close to a corral/chute, so Plan B is to continue bottle feeding this calf until she either figures it out or I can get them in.
So, what's going on with this cow? She comes from a prolific lineage with outstanding udders, and I have 3 other cows & 2 granddaughters from the dam. Never a problem. But they all had different sires.
On the flip side, I had a Simm-Angus that was my fave cow but had a horrible udder. As in, I always had to get her calves latched on and she finally blew out a teat before she was retired. And yet, I kept the only heifer she gave me, who is now 10 years old and still has a great udder. Same with subsequent heifers I've retained from her.
It's a gamble, retaining heifers from dams with poor udders. But there's certainly no guarantee about retaining heifers from dams with good udders! I'm gonna blame the bull, just because.
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
Here's a statement taken from an Ohio State University article:
"Udder scores in beef cattle are considered to be moderately heritable. Two scores are typically taken on beef cows, suspension and teat size. The heritability for suspension is .32 and .28 for teat size. What these values tell us is that females with good, or bad, udders tend to pass that trait to their daughters. From a practical standpoint in your herd, if you have a cow that has an undesirable udder it might not be economically feasible to cull her, but you would definitely want to avoid retaining her daughters as replacements. However, if the udder quality is so poor that it affects the calf's ability to nurse resulting in reduced performance, culling may be your best option. Also, when purchasing your herd bulls that you intend to retain daughters from, it is a good idea to take a look at his dam and assess her udder quality. In this case it is not necessary to be too selective, but you want to avoid a bull from a dam that has extremely poor udder quality. Of course there is less relationship between a replacement heifer and her grand-dam than between her and her dam."
"Udder scores in beef cattle are considered to be moderately heritable. Two scores are typically taken on beef cows, suspension and teat size. The heritability for suspension is .32 and .28 for teat size. What these values tell us is that females with good, or bad, udders tend to pass that trait to their daughters. From a practical standpoint in your herd, if you have a cow that has an undesirable udder it might not be economically feasible to cull her, but you would definitely want to avoid retaining her daughters as replacements. However, if the udder quality is so poor that it affects the calf's ability to nurse resulting in reduced performance, culling may be your best option. Also, when purchasing your herd bulls that you intend to retain daughters from, it is a good idea to take a look at his dam and assess her udder quality. In this case it is not necessary to be too selective, but you want to avoid a bull from a dam that has extremely poor udder quality. Of course there is less relationship between a replacement heifer and her grand-dam than between her and her dam."
Good udders while they can be accidental seldom are. My point is if you want good to great udder structure on your cows you have to select for it. Buy your bulls from someone who cares about it as much or more than you do and it goes away in two generations. Poor udders are time killers.
