Small frame cows

[MtnCows93]

I live in NC and ive been watching the sale here lately looking at pairs, Most of the cows going through the ring weigh 1000 to 1500 pounds but some weight 700 and ive seen some 500 pound cows with a calf on them. they are usually angus or baldie cows that are mostly middle age not first calvers. does anyone here have cows that small?

 

[kenny thomas]

Nobody will admit to having 700lb cows just as nobody will say they have 1800 lb cows. But as you see they are out there.

 

[MtnCows93]

Yea id say your right, i remember seeing a angus cow that weighed 570 with a 300lb bull calf that didnt look very old. the cow was showing ribs but not terrible

 

[Nesikep]

Never seen them that small in our sale ring.. You do see some whoppers though.. I have 1 1800 lb'er left in the herd.. dad's pet

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I would "assume" they are Low Line Angus or Miniature Hereford or some of the other "tiny" breeds or crossed with them.
I will admit, I have two older cows that weigh a ton, but most weigh between 1450 - 1650# (mature). (no tiny breeds mixed in here - LOL)

 

[Caustic Burno]

Nobody will admit to having 700lb cows just as nobody will say they have 1800 lb cows. But as you see they are out there.

I wish I could get all mine to 800 pounds weaning a 600 pound calf.

 

[TCRanch]

Nobody will admit to having 700lb cows just as nobody will say they have 1800 lb cows. But as you see they are out there.

You're right - she clocked in at 2058 when we sold her and she had lost condition. My big girls are primarily Angus/Hereford or Angus/Simm.

 

[Caustic Burno]

These girls are about 800 look for them to top out around 12.

 

[MRRherefords]

My grandfather had one get bred accidently once and she tried to deliver at about 750lbs. She lost the calf and it was amazing we saved her. I will certainly never buy one that small, that is for sure.

 

[bird dog]

Even a animal that would normally be average size will stay small if she calves too early it seems to me. I guess if you left them open for a while they would grow out some but I don't know. I have a couple in my herd that I bought for a song in the 700 lb range that were 6 months or so bred. They now have their 3rd calf and I doubt if they are over 850. They do okay and wean off a calf about 500 lbs at 7 months. If they were a problem I would get rid of them but they are easy keepers and good mama's but they do get bullied around some. One thing about it, you can buy them cheap and if you can get the first calf on the ground, they can make you a decent return on your investment for years to come.

 

[MRRherefords]

Perhaps i should have started a new thread, but i thought that it was relivent. I had a customer tell me the other day that he was told calving at two years old or younger stunts their growth. I had never heard this as we calve at two years old and the cows still grow big. Is their any truth to this?

 

[Nesikep]

I think calving much before 2 years stunts their growth.. maybe even at 2 years it does to an extent.. Our last monster cows were bred to calf at 3 years old, so they really grew out... can't say it was a profitable idea though.
Last year I had one that just stopped growing when she got bred... Lost the calf, 110 lb heifer calf on a 900 lb cow doesn't work well... I had another calf for her to take care of, she was 950 when I sold her that fall at 2 1/2 years old... I think someone needed their eyesight checked, she had a rather evident c section scar, not much of an udder, and I swear I got bred heifer price for her, not cull cow.. Who knows, maybe she turned out alright after all... she was pretty

 

[skeeter swatter]

Perhaps i should have started a new thread, but i thought that it was relivent. I had a customer tell me the other day that he was told calving at two years old or younger stunts their growth. I had never heard this as we calve at two years old and the cows still grow big. Is their any truth to this?

Well, my third calvers weigh 1200-1250, but a sister that missed her second calf weighs 1450 or so.

 

[True Grit Farms]

Well my best commercial cows have always come from heifers that got bred to early. I like heifers to have a calf on the ground by 18 months of age. I have a lot of cows that will have a calf every 10 - 10 1/2 months and most were bred to early as heifers by those supposedly in the know. Heifers that calved young are stunned till their 3 calf, then you or no one else can tell the difference between the cow's size or the calfs size.
Bottom line is small frame cows started out as small frame heifers. IMO

 

[jdg]

I've been grass developing mostly old line angus heifers for a few years now, breeding them to calve at 2 years old. What i've found is that in a 2-3 cycle breeding season, about 10% less will get bred (60-75% bred at 50-60% of adult weight), and I have 1-2% more dystocia. It separates the most fertile, most efficient, most adapted to the environment really quick. The worst part about it is that, for the most part, first calf crop is sub-standard, and cow doesn't get to full weight/maturity til 4 years old. This year i'm trying to provide even more nutrition through annuals and grazing management/stocking rate, but no feed, so that they breed at 55-60% of adult weight, and are at BCS 6 at calving. I'm hoping this well help with that first calf crop. Two years ago i had a heifer wean 72% of her body weight with a bull calf over 500lbs...she wasn't much bigger than him...but she got bred back on time. She will probably mature out around 1000 lbs. I'm in south GA, so our low energy grasses and mild winters favor a slightly smaller animal, from an environmental standpoint.

 

[MtnCows93]

Thanks for all the posts guys, some good info! from what ive heard the smaller cows will wean a higher percent of their bodyweight which is part of the reason im wanting to buy some of these small cows, also i think i could run more cows on the same land as i could larger cows. where im at i can run 1 cow per acre and the cows ive got now weigh an average of 1100 pounds if i had to guess, ive sowed more pasture and looking to buy more this winter, whats your guys thoughts on buying some small 6 or 700 pounders and just using a low birthweight bull on them?

 

[Nesikep]

It all depends on the market for selling them.. If you get squat for a 700 lb steer because he has to be over a year old to get to that, or he fattens before he has the preferred frame size, you start to take a penalty there... If you're doing direct marketing to families who want smaller quarters, it might work out great for you.

I also think what is often neglected are individual efficiency characteristics.. I have some big cows that really don't eat much to stay in shape and make a nice calf, and some small cows that eat you out of house and home and wean a dink... Somewhere in the middle of all this you have what's "right"

 

[MtnCows93]

yea i believe i might get docked for smaller frame but i think more calves would make up for it, and your right about individual efficiency. i guess ill have to just get the cows and then start culling the pairs that arent working. i may end up just buying small frame heifers instead of pairs say 50% more than i need, raising them to yearlings and cull the bigger ones

 

[Muddy]

I'd rather stay with the 1,100lbs cows but that's just me.

 

[ddd75]

yea i believe i might get docked for smaller frame but i think more calves would make up for it, and your right about individual efficiency. i guess ill have to just get the cows and then start culling the pairs that arent working. i may end up just buying small frame heifers instead of pairs say 50% more than i need, raising them to yearlings and cull the bigger ones

if your just going to take them in then you don't want small frame cows.

you'll be severely penalized. you also won't be raising twice as many cows on the same amount of land.