waihou
Well-known member
To continue from Backbone Ranch post, here are some of our MG calves, just weaned this week. Born in July August 2016, our early spring, they have just been weaned at 7/8 months old. We have a few of the same blood lines as BBR, so it is interesting to see how they perform in different hemispheres and different pastures.
We don't feed any grains at all. The cows are outside all year round and grass fed. The calves are just weaned on to good pasture and all ages get hay and/or baleage (baled silage) in the colder months-June/July/August
The best heifer calf at weaning was 383kgs or 844lbs, at a gain of 2.86lbs per day to 263 days of age.
Best overall weight was 506 kgs of heifer twins reared by their dam who is a 3 year old second calver and at age 182 days, they weighed in at 264 kgs and 242 kgs. Pictured here on 1st of March
The bull calves are looking pretty solid, last weigh in was 5th March when the best was 355kgs- 782 lbs and gaining at 3.2 lbs/day so I guess by now he will be over 400 kgs -880 lbs
pictured yesterday at weaning 264 days.
A favourite heifer weighed in at 351 kgs,(773 lbs) gaining 1.2kgs/day since birth despite having ripped her hoof open at the beginning of March and had been sedated for bandaging and treatment 3 times in 2 weeks, she had gained 45 kgs since that event!
The sire of the calves is a bull sired by Monterey Steamroller from Western Australia, we picked him to improve carcase composition whilst giving good growth without raising birth weights too much. His calves from mature cows averaged 86lbs. This is his first crop of calves and although slower to look good I think they are heading the right way now-perhaps it was our awful wet spring and summer and viral infections going through the calves at 2 to 3 weeks old that held things up!?
Pictured is sire at 3 1/2 years this summer
We don't feed any grains at all. The cows are outside all year round and grass fed. The calves are just weaned on to good pasture and all ages get hay and/or baleage (baled silage) in the colder months-June/July/August
The best heifer calf at weaning was 383kgs or 844lbs, at a gain of 2.86lbs per day to 263 days of age.
Best overall weight was 506 kgs of heifer twins reared by their dam who is a 3 year old second calver and at age 182 days, they weighed in at 264 kgs and 242 kgs. Pictured here on 1st of March
The bull calves are looking pretty solid, last weigh in was 5th March when the best was 355kgs- 782 lbs and gaining at 3.2 lbs/day so I guess by now he will be over 400 kgs -880 lbs
pictured yesterday at weaning 264 days.
A favourite heifer weighed in at 351 kgs,(773 lbs) gaining 1.2kgs/day since birth despite having ripped her hoof open at the beginning of March and had been sedated for bandaging and treatment 3 times in 2 weeks, she had gained 45 kgs since that event!
The sire of the calves is a bull sired by Monterey Steamroller from Western Australia, we picked him to improve carcase composition whilst giving good growth without raising birth weights too much. His calves from mature cows averaged 86lbs. This is his first crop of calves and although slower to look good I think they are heading the right way now-perhaps it was our awful wet spring and summer and viral infections going through the calves at 2 to 3 weeks old that held things up!?
Pictured is sire at 3 1/2 years this summer
