What do you think of my 09 show cattle?

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Iowa-angus

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Yes, they have all shown, and i sold my steer. But i just wanted some opinions on them.

First up is my breeding heifer. She was born april 1st of 08, she was bred on june 13th (no, she wasn't A.I'ed) the fair was July 10th-13th, and she had an ultra-sound and a preg-check on friday and she was positive.
here are some pics:
http://s291.photobucket.com/albums/ll31 ... C02112.jpg
http://s291.photobucket.com/albums/ll31 ... C02113.jpg
http://s291.photobucket.com/albums/ll31 ... C02117.jpg

Next up is my market steer. I sold him. His birthdate was March 27th 08, and at the fair he got champion return Bucket/bottle, and reserve champion lightweight market steer. At sale, he was 1105 lbs. and went for 2.25 a pound, for a total of $1325.00
Here are the pics:
http://s291.photobucket.com/albums/ll31 ... C02015.jpg
http://s291.photobucket.com/albums/ll31 ... C02009.jpg
http://s291.photobucket.com/albums/ll31 ... C02101.jpg
http://s291.photobucket.com/albums/ll31 ... 2104-1.jpg

And last but not least is my Bucket bottle calf. Next year i will show him as a return bucket bottle and market steer. He was born April 1st 09 and at fair weighed in at 152 lbs. Here are some pics:
http://s291.photobucket.com/albums/ll31 ... C02013.jpg
http://s291.photobucket.com/albums/ll31 ... C02076.jpg
http://s291.photobucket.com/albums/ll31 ... C02077.jpg
http://s291.photobucket.com/albums/ll31 ... C02088.jpg
http://s291.photobucket.com/albums/ll31 ... C02098.jpg

I am welcome to any comments and yes, i am aware that they are links and yes that is how i intended them.
 
Iowa-angus":3ois3zer said:

You're more likely to get replies if you post the pics rather than the links and if you just post one or two of each animal.

By your username I assume they are angus, although they look like they are dairyXangus. They could all use a lot more muscle and finish.
 
I wish my shows had a bottle fed section. :(

I don't think too much of the heifer. I think she could do with some thickness through her and maybe a little more depth. She seems to be all legs. Obviously I can't see her pelvic structure but it may pay to double check her width in that area is ok otherwise you might want to keep an eye on her while she's calving.

The steer needed some more feed time I think. He needed some more muscling for sure.
 
KNERSIE":1yyozaoz said:
Iowa-angus":1yyozaoz said:

You're more likely to get replies if you post the pics rather than the links and if you just post one or two of each animal.

By your username I assume they are angus, although they look like they are dairyXangus. They could all use a lot more muscle and finish.
How do i post them on here? The bulls for all of them are purebred angus, and the cows were all Angus/polled hertfurd cross. So these would be angus hertfurd crosses also. No dairy in them.
 
I tried, but it said it couldn't determine the dimensions of the image. I have read something about ranchers.net and pics. What is that all about?
 
Iowa-angus":ywdbql6n said:
I tried, but it said it couldn't determine the dimensions of the image. I have read something about ranchers.net and pics. What is that all about?

If you click on one of the links you've posted you'll see a black box to the left of the page saying "Share this image". The last line says "image code", click that and it will be copied to your clipboard automatically and paste it here, simple as that. I've done it exactly like that for the last link you've posted and it works as you can see below.

DSC02098.jpg
 
ok here is heifer pics:
DSC02112.jpg

DSC02113.jpg

DSC02117.jpg


Here is my market steer pics:
DSC02104-1.jpg

DSC02101.jpg

DSC02015.jpg

DSC02009.jpg


Here is my bucket/bottle calf:
DSC02088.jpg

DSC02077.jpg

DSC02076.jpg

DSC02013.jpg
 
hmm...

We went to 4-H beef show at the iowa state fair and 1 out of the 2 divisions we watched i picked the one that one the division.

i also got a couple classes.
 
Iowa-angus":jr21t7ru said:
hmm...

We went to 4-H beef show at the iowa state fair and 1 out of the 2 divisions we watched i picked the one that one the division.

i also got a couple classes.

Well it's pretty obvious you didn't use those skills on selecting your own cattle.
 
My Mum can pick a good animal and has nothing to do with cattle. She used to come watch me at the show and she'd see something she liked and point it out, most of the time they were winners or up in their class. However if I asked her to look at some calves and pick me an animal that will grow out nice... No idea. Selection is a big issue. Learning how to pick who is going to grow out and who isn't is hard, plenty of so called 'experts' get it wrong. But it's a good skill to practice, learning to look for that balance of structure, growth and capacity.
 
Cowboy 2.0":197z684d said:
Iowa-angus":197z684d said:
hmm...

We went to 4-H beef show at the iowa state fair and 1 out of the 2 divisions we watched i picked the one that one the division.

i also got a couple classes.

Well it's pretty obvious you didn't use those skills on selecting your own cattle.
well sorry for not wanting to spend the money on a cooler....

My calves are realistic. Oh, and aren't we forgeting that 2 out of the 3 "badly selected" calves got reserve champion or champion???????
 
Iowa-angus":1ubsijvq said:
Cowboy 2.0":1ubsijvq said:
Iowa-angus":1ubsijvq said:
hmm...

We went to 4-H beef show at the iowa state fair and 1 out of the 2 divisions we watched i picked the one that one the division.

i also got a couple classes.

Well it's pretty obvious you didn't use those skills on selecting your own cattle.
well sorry for not wanting to spend the money on a cooler....

My calves are realistic. Oh, and aren't we forgeting that 2 out of the 3 "badly selected" calves got reserve champion or champion???????

Out of 2?

I didn't always have a cooler. I took home plenty of banners with a fan and a wash rack. I would rather see someone with 1 good calf than 3 fair calves at best.
 
Iowa-Angus you asked for opinions, now that you got them don't be defensive. I would have to agree with the others, the heifer looks leggy, narrow made, and on the hard doing side (in your picture you posted of her, where your in the ring showing, look at the heifer by the door, she looks deeper sided, longer bodied and wider based, that is what you want to look for when selecting a heifer)
The steer is an OK steer, he lacks balance, and He is big in the shouldered and light in the rear
His top line is rough, should be smoother
He also looks a little tight in the flank and heart girth.
I would guess from the pictures that he needs a couple hundred more pounds on him to be finished.
Was this your first steer project? If so great job, now next year look for a steer that is stronger in those areas where this years wasn't. Take those baldy cows and breed them to a continental and you will see some more muscle, depth and width.
We all get a little barn blind. It is a learning process, study the animals that win, listen to what the judge says about them and make your selection on your next project based off of your new knowledge.

Good luck with your next project
 
VCC":2okp2rtx said:
Iowa-Angus you asked for opinions, now that you got them don't be defensive. I would have to agree with the others, the heifer looks leggy, narrow made, and on the hard doing side (in your picture you posted of her, where your in the ring showing, look at the heifer by the door, she looks deeper sided, longer bodied and wider based, that is what you want to look for when selecting a heifer)
The steer is an OK steer, he lacks balance, and He is big in the shouldered and light in the rear
His top line is rough, should be smother
He also looks a little tight in the flank and heart girth.
I would guess from the pictures that he needs a couple hundred more pounds on him to be finished.
Was this your first steer project? If so great job, now next year look for a steer that is stronger in those areas where this years wasn't. Take those baldy cows and breed them to a continental and you will see some more muscle, depth and width.
We all get a little barn blind. It is a learning process, study the animals that win, listen to what the judge says about them and make your selection on your next project based off of your new knowledge.

Good luck with your next project

i generally like the post and the way the info was given, it was very informative and gave me constructive criticism.

The reason i am being defensive is because they i select and my calves are plain out being insulted. I would not have gotten defensive if it would have been said in a little more of a respectful wording.

Thanks for the info and criticism in this post VCC!!! :tiphat:
 
Iowa-angus,
Cowboy2.0 tends to be a bit blunt. The quality of cattle shown in county fairs varies all across the Nation. Cowboy2.0 lives in Texas (I do too). The county fairs in Texas are very competitive and have a different quality of stock. That may be why he is so negative.

These are links to a manuals about Beef Conformation and Judging. They are in pdf format and you can download and save them to your computer to print out. They are good and will help you develop an eye for conformation.

http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p2289beef.pdf

http://www.uaex.edu/Other_Areas/publications/PDF/MP-398.pdf

We all like our own animals, if we didn't we wouldn't own them. However a good cowman looks at his stock objectively as if they are not his. Once you learn what your animals' good points and short comings are, you will learn how to see what is there and how to select good stock.

I know that your parents are proud of your hard work and dedication. That is what counts. The ribbons are just the icing on the cake.
 

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