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The 8 Most Common Genetic Mistakes Made by Cow/Calf Producer
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<blockquote data-quote="Nesikep" data-source="post: 1139150" data-attributes="member: 9096"><p>Interesting about the efficiency aspect.. and I'd agree with it too... Caddy, the cow I suspect to be the most efficient in the herd (least hungry, first to leave the feed bunk) isn't a belly dragger... She's a relatively fine boned cow, with a fair frame (6 to 7 I think) and about 15-1600 lbs. She stays fat all year and her calves are always up in the tops on weaning weights. In contrast, I have another cow (Mega), she does like to eat and she has a WIDE belly, but darn does she ever raise a big (and nice) calf... The two cows have 3/4 of the same bloodlines (Same grandmother, and Caddy's father is Mega's grandfather as well). I think cow longevity should be included in efficiency calculations, because I'd give up a little FEED efficiency if I didn't need to feed replacement heifers for darned well 2 1/2 years until I sold their first calf... the money I could have gotten for them 2 1/2 years earlier.</p><p></p><p>I'd also like to add that buying sale barn cows will not typically improve your herd either (unless you have a lousy herd or exceptional cows in the sale barn). For whatever reason they are there, they weren't the sellers best cows!</p><p></p><p>Around here we've long selected for good MATERNAL calving traits. Being a small herd (1 bull), we can still afford to have a 90 lb BW bull and use him on heifers (they usually have an 70-80 lb first calf). If they can't handle that, then they must not have the MCE we're going for. We do keep a close eye on the heifers at calving time, but it's rare we have one that needs anything more than light assistance.. </p><p></p><p>I'm going to have to voice a bit of a reservation about #8, and here's why. I'm going to use birthweights as the example. For some reason, my mature cows nearly all make bull calves over 100 lbs, and about 2 out of 10 bull calves will be 130-140 lbs. My cows don't have a problem with this, but I think a person would be better off with a 90 lb BW bull from a herd where they're all much heavier than an 80 lb birthweight bull from a place where that's the average. This isn't the case for all traits either though, since you wouldn't want the the one that weans at 700 lbs when all his siblings weaned at 850, you'd want the 700 lb'er from a place where his siblings weaned at 600! When I look for bulls, I look for them to be raised in a HARSHER environment than mine too</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nesikep, post: 1139150, member: 9096"] Interesting about the efficiency aspect.. and I'd agree with it too... Caddy, the cow I suspect to be the most efficient in the herd (least hungry, first to leave the feed bunk) isn't a belly dragger... She's a relatively fine boned cow, with a fair frame (6 to 7 I think) and about 15-1600 lbs. She stays fat all year and her calves are always up in the tops on weaning weights. In contrast, I have another cow (Mega), she does like to eat and she has a WIDE belly, but darn does she ever raise a big (and nice) calf... The two cows have 3/4 of the same bloodlines (Same grandmother, and Caddy's father is Mega's grandfather as well). I think cow longevity should be included in efficiency calculations, because I'd give up a little FEED efficiency if I didn't need to feed replacement heifers for darned well 2 1/2 years until I sold their first calf... the money I could have gotten for them 2 1/2 years earlier. I'd also like to add that buying sale barn cows will not typically improve your herd either (unless you have a lousy herd or exceptional cows in the sale barn). For whatever reason they are there, they weren't the sellers best cows! Around here we've long selected for good MATERNAL calving traits. Being a small herd (1 bull), we can still afford to have a 90 lb BW bull and use him on heifers (they usually have an 70-80 lb first calf). If they can't handle that, then they must not have the MCE we're going for. We do keep a close eye on the heifers at calving time, but it's rare we have one that needs anything more than light assistance.. I'm going to have to voice a bit of a reservation about #8, and here's why. I'm going to use birthweights as the example. For some reason, my mature cows nearly all make bull calves over 100 lbs, and about 2 out of 10 bull calves will be 130-140 lbs. My cows don't have a problem with this, but I think a person would be better off with a 90 lb BW bull from a herd where they're all much heavier than an 80 lb birthweight bull from a place where that's the average. This isn't the case for all traits either though, since you wouldn't want the the one that weans at 700 lbs when all his siblings weaned at 850, you'd want the 700 lb'er from a place where his siblings weaned at 600! When I look for bulls, I look for them to be raised in a HARSHER environment than mine too [/QUOTE]
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