Possible Replacement Heifer - Tear Her up

[ROB]

Initially i wasn't going to save her - i had decided to feed her out for butcher. give me all the pro's and con's you can think of. she's an october '06 calf out of my donor cow and herd bull Tony 2092. her numbers aren't that great, but her calves should finish out well. :lol:

ROB

 

[texast]

She looks like a steer to me. Very big, but isn't that breed rather larger in size?What does she weigh?
I don't think you could go wrong either way. If she isn't bred, breed her and see what the calf looks like, then go from there.
When you say her numbers aren't that great what do you mean?
What was her birth weight?
Sorry for all the questions, just trying to learn alittle.

 

[bigbull338]

she looks good to me.id breed an calve her.an see what kind of calf she raises.an if you dont like her.you can cull her as a bred cow.

 

[TexasBred]

Masculine looking to me but then I know nothing about this breed. Probably would make a good cow. Worth a try I suppose.

 

[ROB]

She looks like a steer to me. Very big, but isn't that breed rather larger in size?What does she weigh?
I don't think you could go wrong either way. If she isn't bred, breed her and see what the calf looks like, then go from there.
When you say her numbers aren't that great what do you mean?
What was her birth weight?
Sorry for all the questions, just trying to learn alittle.

haven't weighed her recently, but i'd say she's close to 1300 lbs. her numbers i referred to pertain to her expected EPD's. our herd bull's ww and yw epd's are not too great for the breed. if i do keep her for replacement i would have her registered. her birth wt was 79#. she does have more frame to her than my older cows, but she is still quite a bit smaller framed than my neighbor's angus cows. i'd still consider her to be moderate framed.

ROB

 

[ROB]

Pros: Good length and depth, good hindquarter, level topline
Cons: She is Braunvieh, a tad pinched in the heart girth

she's 15/16 braunvieh X 1/16 angus. that bit of angus prolly contributed to the tad of pinched heart girth you mentioned. :lol2: but just out of curiosity, i will be measuring her to verify her girth/topline ratio....and thanks for the comments....hope she will get more opinions from other members.

ROB

 

[RVF]

I am assuming since you were feeding her out to butcher, that she has got fat deposited in her udder. If that is the case she will probably not produce enough milk to raise a good calf. For that reason I would be butchering her, because she would not work on my place.

 

[milkmaid]

>>I am assuming since you were feeding her out to butcher, that she has got fat deposited in her udder. If that is the case she will probably not produce enough milk to raise a good calf. For that reason I would be butchering her, because she would not work on my place.<<

Only a minor issue the first lactation, not subsequent lactations.

 

[goodbeef]

Pro's - she looks deep and broody
Con's - too fat, because you have fed her like a butcher heifer you may run into problems down the road, especially with her udder

 

[RVF]

Only a minor issue the first lactation, not subsequent lactations.

That is not my experience. I find if they got too fat as heifers, they will not work in their first or second lactation ( I have never given them more opportunity than that). I have got to the point if they do not work in their first lactation for any reason they do not get a second.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Only a minor issue the first lactation, not subsequent lactations.

That is not my experience.

• >> I find if they got too fat as heifers,<

they will not work in their first or second lactation ( I have never given them more opportunity than that). I have got to the point if they do not work in their first lactation for any reason they do not get a second.

why are you lettin' em get to fat..?

 

[ROB]

:shock:

 

[ROB]

upon reading the concerns of fat deposits in the udder, i contacted my vet. i asked him if i were setting myself up for a train wreck with this calf nearly ready for butcher and wanting now to keep her for replacement. he assured me that i would not have any trouble. my plan is to take her off full feed this weekend, (her and another one :shock, and move them into a 3 acre pond lot, gradually working them down off of feed. breeding of the two heifers is not planned until mid-july, where my goal is to AI them to GAR Solution. her momma, (of the pictured calf) is also a deep, broody cow that is very easy fleshing. she and quite a few of my other cows will get bettermilk fat on grass. i am not too concerned about this calfs' current weight, i know i can get her into good breeding condition prior to July, i just didn't know if there was a difference between "fat on grass" and "fat on corn"

my opinions on this calf:
PROS
long, deep and wide: lots of capacity.
genetics: she is out of my donor cow and i am in the process of getting all my females to that lineage.
a lot of the traits of her mother are consistently passed on to her calves.
dispostion: very docile.
muscle: i really like her hind end.
conformation: straight backed, not post legged, stands with her head above her backline which is a trait for smooth shouldered animals. hopefully a trait that will be passed on to her sons.
and for TnMtn- she's a braunvieh.
the rest of them i'll tell you later after she calves.

CONS
i didn't get this figured out sooner that i wanted to keep her.
the rest of them i'll tell you later after she calves.

ROB

 

[MikeC]

Rob, I personally think the problem about accumulated udder fat in fed animals is way overblown.

I have seen a lot of show heifers do just fine as mothers.

Breed her and see what happens.........................

 

[ROB]

Rob, I personally think the problem about accumulated udder fat in fed animals is way overblown.

I have seen a lot of show heifers do just fine as mothers.

Breed her and see what happens.........................

thats the first thing i thought when i read the comments yesterday. but usually when i get to thinkin' i get in trouble :shock: so i consulted with my vet.

ROB

 

[milkmaid]

Rob, I personally think the problem about accumulated udder fat in fed animals is way overblown.

I have seen a lot of show heifers do just fine as mothers.

Breed her and see what happens.........................

Ditto.

Boss had an over-conditioned 18 month old (and 1300lb+) heifer calve several years back... she didn't do half shabby the first year, but she's on her 3rd lactation now and one of the better milking cows in the herd.

FWIW, I read a study awhile back (think it was in Hoards Dairyman) done on dairy heifers... I think the point of the study was that an ADG over 1.8 between 300-700lbs caused lowered production (compared to normally raised contemporaries) the first lactation, but since subsequent lactations were normal it was worth the added cost of feeding for earlier entrance to the milking herd. According to that, if you beef guys really want to fret about lowered milk production, you ought to focus on your young stock's ADG.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Rob, I personally think the problem about accumulated udder fat in fed animals is way overblown.

I have seen a lot of show heifers do just fine as mothers.

Breed her and see what happens.........................

Ditto.

Boss had an over-conditioned 18 month old (and 1300lb+) heifer calve several years back... she didn't do half shabby the first year, but she's on her 3rd lactation now and one of the better milking cows in the herd.

FWIW, I read a study awhile back (think it was in Hoards Dairyman) done on dairy heifers... I think the point of the study was that an ADG over 1.8 between 300-700lbs caused lowered production (compared to normally raised contemporaries) the first lactation, but since subsequent lactations were normal it was worth the added cost of feeding for earlier entrance to the milking herd. According to that, if you beef guys really want to fret about lowered milk production, you ought to focus on your young stock's ADG.

or aleast cut down their intake if you see em gettin' fat enough to concern you,

 

[Ribeye]

Rob, Since fuel is so high would you mind just bringing her to me!!! Then you want have anymore worries. I have a braunvieh bull on some angus cattle sure do make some nice calves and mammas !!!

 

[*Cowgirl*]

I wouldn't be overly concerned about the fat udder.....I've seen many a fat show heifer go on and raise very nice calves.

Go for it!

 

[DOC HARRIS]

upon reading the concerns of fat deposits in the udder, i contacted my vet. i asked him if i were setting myself up for a train wreck with this calf nearly ready for butcher and wanting now to keep her for replacement. he assured me that i would not have any trouble. my plan is to take her off full feed this weekend, (her and another one :shock, and move them into a 3 acre pond lot, gradually working them down off of feed. breeding of the two heifers is not planned until mid-july, where my goal is to AI them to GAR Solution. her momma, (of the pictured calf) is also a deep, broody cow that is very easy fleshing. she and quite a few of my other cows will get bettermilk fat on grass. i am not too concerned about this calfs' current weight, i know i can get her into good breeding condition prior to July, i just didn't know if there was a difference between "fat on grass" and "fat on corn"

my opinions on this calf:
PROS
long, deep and wide: lots of capacity.
genetics: she is out of my donor cow and i am in the process of getting all my females to that lineage.
a lot of the traits of her mother are consistently passed on to her calves.
dispostion: very docile.
muscle: i really like her hind end.
conformation: straight backed, not post legged, stands with her head above her backline which is a trait for smooth shouldered animals. hopefully a trait that will be passed on to her sons.
and for TnMtn- she's a braunvieh.
the rest of them i'll tell you later after she calves.

CONS
i didn't get this figured out sooner that i wanted to keep her.
the rest of them i'll tell you later after she calves.

ROB

ROB-

Just a suggestion regarding "letting her down" by July. I am assuming that she is on a constant mineral supplement. But to get her in great 'breeding' condition, you might arrange her mineral access and her water supplement at a pretty good distance apart - maybe a half mile or more, to FORCE her (them) to exercise and thereby lose some of that soft fat and tone up her muscles. She will breed more easily, and have a more vigorous calf! Exercise is crucial!

BTW - G A R Solution is an excellent choice for AI'ing to your genetics!

DOC HARRIS