Weighed the First Calves Yesterday

[randiliana]

Yesterday, we weighed the big bunch of calves. 75 head. These were the oldest calves for the most part.

Steers avg'd
BW - 94
Actual Weight - 563
Days of age - 180
ADG - 2.61

Heifers avg'd
BW - 88
Actual Weight - 530
Days of age - 180
ADG - 2.45

Heaviest calf was a Black Baldy heifer at 715 lbs, Born Mar 21, BW 106 and ADG was 3.29. This was our first ever 700+ lb calf, so we are really pretty happy.

Here is a picture of her taken 1 week ago.

 

[KNERSIE]

is that the same heifer you thought was double muscled?

 

[randiliana]

is that the same heifer you thought was double muscled?

No, this is a different one. The double muscled one weighed 641 lbs, with an adg of 2.79 lb/day. She still has way more muscle than ANY other calf we have.

 

[KNERSIE]

is that the same heifer you thought was double muscled?

No, this is a different one. The double muscled one weighed 641 lbs, with an adg of 2.79 lb/day. She still has way more muscle than ANY other calf we have.

how was this one bred? angus cow, hereford bull or the other way around or was their simmental on the dams side with that high WW?

 

[bigbull338]

id put that 700lb heifer in the replacement pen.by spring she will be ready to breed.

 

[randiliana]

how was this one bred? angus cow, hereford bull or the other way around or was their simmental on the dams side with that high WW?

Red Brockle faced cow bred black Angus. Not sure on the percentages, but likely the dam was 75% angus 25% hereford. No simmental that I know of.

 

[randiliana]

id put that 700lb heifer in the replacement pen.by spring she will be ready to breed.

That is where she will go. But, she is practically ready to breed now ;-)

 

[randiliana]

I sure as heck wouldnt keep no animal bull, heifer, or cow that had a 106 pound birthweight. Yall are absolutely crazy.

Give me one good reason?? Cow had her by herself, calf was up and about on its own shortly after birth, and obviously never looked back........

 

[CPL]

randiliana-

^^^How much did she wean at? :lol: :lol:

Nice heifer.

 

[randiliana]

randiliana-

^^^How much did she wean at? :lol: :lol:

Nice heifer.

I didn't get that .

She was pretty little ;-) You know that pet factor, I just fell in love with her ;-) After all, how could anyone cull THAT!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[seth]

That's is impressive, but don't let your expectations get too high for her producing ability. Sometimes and I mean sometimes, not all the time, those extremely high performimg heifers are more than a little disappointing when they are kept as replacements. I have seen them breed late or come in open or if they do breed on time they have poor milk production and wean light calves. I wonder if some of these heifers are high performimg because of hormones that are out of whack, hormones that promote growth but inhibit fertility and milk production. I know of some producers who routinely cull their extremely high performing heifers at weaning for exactly that reason. I'm not saying that is the case with your heifer, but it is something to watch for.

 

[randiliana]

That's is impressive, but don't let your expectations get too high for her producing ability. Sometimes and I mean sometimes, not all the time, those extremely high performimg heifers are more than a little disappointing when they are kept as replacements. I have seen them breed late or come in open or if they do breed on time they have poor milk production and wean light calves. I wonder if some of these heifers are high performimg because of hormones that are out of whack, hormones that promote growth but inhibit fertility and milk production. I know of some producers who routinely cull their extremely high performing heifers at weaning for exactly that reason. I'm not saying that is the case with your heifer, but it is something to watch for.

I have heard of the same thing. We have kept our best heifers over the years, however, and while they may not perform to the extent that you expect they still turn into pretty darn good cows. The thing is however, that while she is certainly the best of them, a good portion of the others are not too far off her performance. So, we will see.

I think the biggest problem with keeping that big of a heifer is how big she may mature at.

 

[SEC]

Seth makes a good point!


There is little need for keeping the highest performing heifer, unless your herd lacks performance. She could well turn out to be a larger framed animal, she may level out. I always find it interesting to see to what level the genetics/ region can handle with out losing out on something. Time will identify that as long as the culling procedures don't change.

 

[randiliana]

Seth makes a good point!


There is little need for keeping the highest performing heifer, unless your herd lacks performance. She could well turn out to be a larger framed animal, she may level out. I always find it interesting to see to what level the genetics/ region can handle with out losing out on something. Time will identify that as long as the culling procedures don't change.

Well, we will keep this one and give her a try. Heifers are pretty cheap right now (on the market reports) and I would like to see how this one will perform. If she doesn't she won't last long in this herd, and if she does, all the better. If she were off a below average cow I would likely reconsider, but she is off one of our more consistant cows so she also has that going for her.

 

[KNERSIE]

That's is impressive, but don't let your expectations get too high for her producing ability. Sometimes and I mean sometimes, not all the time, those extremely high performimg heifers are more than a little disappointing when they are kept as replacements. I have seen them breed late or come in open or if they do breed on time they have poor milk production and wean light calves. I wonder if some of these heifers are high performimg because of hormones that are out of whack, hormones that promote growth but inhibit fertility and milk production. I know of some producers who routinely cull their extremely high performing heifers at weaning for exactly that reason. I'm not saying that is the case with your heifer, but it is something to watch for.

Although I agree with you and generally it's seldom wise to continue chasing performance, this heifer looks very feminine and in balance on this photo, at this point in time I would give her chance to develope till breeding age, then you'll have a better idea how tall she'll end up and how much was just good preweaning growth and how much is excessive performance. In her case I doubt that a hormonal imbalance caused her high weaning weight, but rather a combination of a mating that nicked and maternal excellence.

Generally if a heifer that outgrew her contemporaries that is heavier fronted than the rest, got a thicker neck, and stronger shoulders, broader head, then you can put her on the cull list for a possible hormonal imbalance.

If the heifer in question ends up being taller than the environment can support she can always be sold as a bred heifer to someone who can support more growth.