Replacements at commerial auction

[StarrGin]

I maintain a small heard. I typically keep replacements from my own heard or buy heifers at breeder sales.

This spring however, my heifer crop is light and I won't be able to keep as many as I would like. I've been attending some commercial auctions to see what weaning calves might be available to pair with my stock.

One other thing that caught my interest at the sale is bread cows. The auction barn seems to mark these cows with a number. I've seen 1's, 2's and 3's. These #'s seem to represent how long the cow has been bread. Just wanted to make sure before I decide to venture bidding on these.

Do the #'s represent trimesters as with human gestation?

Advice is appreciated.

 

[mwj]

Yes it does.

 

[Gunner]

I guess that depends on the auction. At the ones I go to they mark the age of the cow, usually toward the front and the # of months bred on the hip. I would ask at the auction if I were you.

 

[wacocowboy]

just be careful buying bred heifers you don't know what they are bred to I knew a guy had some young angus heifers in a field and his neighbor's 90+lb bw char bull broke in and bred them and he sold those heifers 5-6mo bred and got good money at the sale and the poor buyer probably had fun pulling those calves

 

[piedmontese]

Come on guys, u know they're always "bred black"

 

[denvermartinfarms]

Come on guys, u know they're always "bred black"

And to often they are. I've bought alot of bred Charolais cows that I would have whole lot rather Been bred to a Hereford or a breed of a red bull.