SRBeef":1rnti1xy said:
KNERSIE":1rnti1xy said:
Not my bag of chips, but i hope they do well for you.
Harley, with your Hereford and judging experience it would be helpful to hear why they are not "your bag of chips". Please elaborate. Few of us have perfect cattle and can stand to learn.
Jim
They are simply not my type, or probably better put they are not the type that works for me.
Since you asked here is how I see them.
The first heifer could do with more femininity and she has a slight reverse wedge, her neck is quite coarse and she has a very plain head. She lacks length from hooks to pins and although a rear view picture isn't included she appears that she may also lack width between the pins. There is quite a slope from hooks to pins which isn't necessarily a bad thing as longs as it isn't too extreme and as long as there is enough muscle to make a round full rump. Ideally you want the animal to be close to equally long from hooks to pins as it is from hooks to crops and from crops to poll to be ideally balanced. She certainly isn't a very early maturing type, but she isn't extremely late maturing either and I doubt she'll be extreme is size when mature. At this point the jury is still out on her milking ability and I don't see any real indication of a highly maternal animal at this stage, but it isn't to say she won't be able to raise a decent calf when mated to the right bull. She looks good enough for soundness for a commercial set up.
The second heifer is definately later maturing than the first as can bee seen in the longer head and much longer cannon bone, she also has more substance to her and should develop into quite a large, but more powerful cow than the first heifer. She is better muscled, is better balanced and has more heart girth. Her head is again quite plain and the muzzle could do with more width. Her hair coat isn't as good for a hot climate as the first heifer's. On better pasture she'll more than likely outproduce the first heifer, but will very likely need more groceries to maintain equal BCS.
Both are light boned and could do with more bone, muscle and femininity, they may not be culls, but they aren't top heifers either. Before someone say what is the significance of a head, its goes into the skip anyway.... it has everything to do with endocrine balance, to be highly fertile and maternal you need high levels of estrogen, high levels of estrogen will in turn make for a more refined head and neck and more of a wedge shape. There are exceptions to the rule, but generally the more feminine heifers turn into more productive cows.
The heifer of mine Cris posted turned into a good cow, she never was at the very top end of my heifers and probably never will be at the very top end of my cows, but she is a good example of what I select for.
