sebrondjr
Active member
I things she looks pretty darn good, myself.
What would you do?
- Thread starter jersey lilly
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rattler
Well-known member
she is a real fine looking calf their JL .I think if it were me id keep her.
rattler
rattler
CowpokeJ
Well-known member
What kind of grass situation do you have? Calves at Crockett are bringing a pretty hefty penny. Probably could pick up a commercial heavy springing for $1000. Ready to drop. If your calf brings 6+ at 4-5 wt there you go.
Hill Creek Farm
Well-known member
I still say, KEEP THIS CALF! :cboy:
if you're willing to cull her on color or May calving, then her dam should go too? yellow cow with a May calf?
i like the heifer & would certainly use other criteria besides color for culling. if your calves are going through the salebarn one at a time then color isn't that big of a deal anyway.
i like the heifer & would certainly use other criteria besides color for culling. if your calves are going through the salebarn one at a time then color isn't that big of a deal anyway.
OP
OP
jersey lilly
Well-known member
It's tough to cull durin a drought for a calf that was a few months late. She's not the only one that was born in May. Our grass situation is better now than it's been in a good while, got 2 1/4 inches of rain at the end of last week. Not enuff to end this drought but it helped. Breedin season last year there wasn't a whole lot of grass. This has thrown our calving all outta shape. In the past we have left the bulls in year round, for the simple fact that we didnt have a place to put them if pulled off. Now that's remedied. We have a place for them. Why would I cull a cow that weans a calf ever year on grass alone the weighs 650 - 700 lbs at 6 mo old?
When I said Cullin because of color,most heifer calves go to the sale barn that aren't black, unless I just really like the way they are put together. Yes eventually the dam will be culled. When we get a few more black replacements to fill the spots the colored one's will leave when they get culled. But not yet.
I don't really understand your comment txag about "if your calves are going through the salebarn one at a time then color isn't that big of a deal anyway." because calves here sell thru the ring one at a time allllll the time. If you were meanin loadin one calf up and haulin it all by itself to the sale barn, that doesn't happen around here unless somethin is wrong with it. Same goes for a cow. Only been a handfull of times in the last 15 or so years that we've hauled a Cow or Calf off by it'self. Everything usually goes on the trailer when we work the whole herd and sell calves. Since we are now workin with a large number of cows, and keeping replacements, the last couple years spring and fall workings, we've hauled some of the older "color" cows to the sale. With intentions to eventually go all black.
CowpokeJ - I don't buy at the sale barn unless it's a replacement sale. And then still not very often. They are still most likely someones culls. Why buy somethin when what I'm raisin and keepin looks just as good if not better than those at replacement sales? If they are heavy bred at the salebarn they are there for a reason. Why buy someone elses "problem" Maybe that "heavy springer" was culled because of small pelvic area,??? who knows. So no...I know what's in my pasture, and what kinda heifers my black cows throw as replacements.
Most of what's goin thru the salebarn around here (cow wise) is one's that aren't doin well with what little grass they've got. Lotssss of skinny cows goin thru. People are keepin their best and gittin rid of the rest because of the grass situation. It's real interestin to watch how the sales go dependin on rain. LOL
When I said Cullin because of color,most heifer calves go to the sale barn that aren't black, unless I just really like the way they are put together. Yes eventually the dam will be culled. When we get a few more black replacements to fill the spots the colored one's will leave when they get culled. But not yet.
I don't really understand your comment txag about "if your calves are going through the salebarn one at a time then color isn't that big of a deal anyway." because calves here sell thru the ring one at a time allllll the time. If you were meanin loadin one calf up and haulin it all by itself to the sale barn, that doesn't happen around here unless somethin is wrong with it. Same goes for a cow. Only been a handfull of times in the last 15 or so years that we've hauled a Cow or Calf off by it'self. Everything usually goes on the trailer when we work the whole herd and sell calves. Since we are now workin with a large number of cows, and keeping replacements, the last couple years spring and fall workings, we've hauled some of the older "color" cows to the sale. With intentions to eventually go all black.
CowpokeJ - I don't buy at the sale barn unless it's a replacement sale. And then still not very often. They are still most likely someones culls. Why buy somethin when what I'm raisin and keepin looks just as good if not better than those at replacement sales? If they are heavy bred at the salebarn they are there for a reason. Why buy someone elses "problem" Maybe that "heavy springer" was culled because of small pelvic area,??? who knows. So no...I know what's in my pasture, and what kinda heifers my black cows throw as replacements.
Most of what's goin thru the salebarn around here (cow wise) is one's that aren't doin well with what little grass they've got. Lotssss of skinny cows goin thru. People are keepin their best and gittin rid of the rest because of the grass situation. It's real interestin to watch how the sales go dependin on rain. LOL
jersey lilly":7c4qmefv said:
why would you cull the daughter of a cow that weans a calf ever year on grass alone the weighs 650 - 700 lbs at 6 mo old strictly because she's not black (your original post was only asking about color)?
being short on grass because of a drought is a pretty good reason to cull. if you had been pulling the bull out, her mama wouldn't have had a calf at all. i'm not telling you to cull her, i'm just pointing out the logic of culling this calf on the basis of your original question (color alone). if you're going to do that, then you'd also cull her dam who is off-color and (now the new culling criteria) calving in May. earlier you didn't mention what kind of calf her dam raised except to say "Not one I particularly like but she always raises a real nice calf so she's stayed" . there are lots of descriptions for "real nice". now that you've defined "real nice" by weaning weight, i go back to my original statement in that i surely wouldn't cull by color alone. i'd keep her before i'd keep the black daughter of a cow that weans a 400 lb calf. performance is much more important to me than color.
as to the comment about one at a time through the salebarn, your clarifying how you sell is exactly what i meant. unless you're filling an order for a uniform group & selling them that way, color isn't that big of a deal. a good red, yellow, grey calf can and will bring as much as a good black calf. now if they're dogs, then a black calf may bring more than a colored dog.
so again, to repeat myself, i like the calf & wouldn't cull her because of color alone.
OP
OP
jersey lilly
Well-known member
txag "performance is much more important to me than color."
As it is here. I wouldnt keep a cow that weaned a 400 lb 6 mo old calf no matter what color she was. She'd be one of the first one's to go.
I guess, with my original post, with so much I didnt say. We are keeping about 20 black brangus heifers for replacements, every year. Would you keep this one in that bunch, or send her on down the road? is what I was gettin at. Her dam will eventually be culled. Just a matter of time (what it basically boils down to is how long it takes us to get the replacement heifers from the other cows that are black to fill the places of the colored cows we are still carryin over every year. We've already culled based on "no calf" "poor calf" etc thru the years. So all the cows here are productive and makin us a profit. When we cull now, first one's that are on the list to look at for culling are the older cows. Then based on what kinda calf they raise, and what color the cow is. Example....if I've got a 14 year old black cow that's raisin a good calf, and a 14 year old red or whiteface cow that's raisin a good calf. The one I'm gonna cull first isn't gonna be the black one. It'll be the one's that are red or whiteface or yellow if she falls into the age of cows I'm lookin at to replace. Course there's sometimes a black cow that might not be holdin up condition as well as I'd like....so she might be the one that gets a ride to town instead of say this yellow cow that is this calf's mama.
Does this make more sense? LOL
As it is here. I wouldnt keep a cow that weaned a 400 lb 6 mo old calf no matter what color she was. She'd be one of the first one's to go.
I guess, with my original post, with so much I didnt say. We are keeping about 20 black brangus heifers for replacements, every year. Would you keep this one in that bunch, or send her on down the road? is what I was gettin at. Her dam will eventually be culled. Just a matter of time (what it basically boils down to is how long it takes us to get the replacement heifers from the other cows that are black to fill the places of the colored cows we are still carryin over every year. We've already culled based on "no calf" "poor calf" etc thru the years. So all the cows here are productive and makin us a profit. When we cull now, first one's that are on the list to look at for culling are the older cows. Then based on what kinda calf they raise, and what color the cow is. Example....if I've got a 14 year old black cow that's raisin a good calf, and a 14 year old red or whiteface cow that's raisin a good calf. The one I'm gonna cull first isn't gonna be the black one. It'll be the one's that are red or whiteface or yellow if she falls into the age of cows I'm lookin at to replace. Course there's sometimes a black cow that might not be holdin up condition as well as I'd like....so she might be the one that gets a ride to town instead of say this yellow cow that is this calf's mama.
Does this make more sense? LOL
I ask again if the heifer you ask about will be old enough to fit in with this groop for breding? Or will she be too young?
If you are keeping cows untill 14 years old then it will be 14 years before you have all black cows.
Do you weigh and do a 205 day weigh on your calve and know whitch cows index a better calf than others or do you just look at them?
CowpokeJ
Well-known member
Where did you get your cows to start with? The sale barn here, the better cows bring $1000+ and the not so good $600. Yes, these cows could have problems, but who's to say that $2500 replacement sale cow is going to be breeding sound? Better bred, sure. Private treaty is an option, I bought 3-1's for 1200. 3/4 gert 1/4 red angus momma's with 3-4 wt black heifers on side out of mound creek bulls. My friend has some purebred beefs, second calve in em for $1200.
I've heard before keep your replacements when the price of calves is low. If you do the math on what it's going to cost to feed and keep her until she has a calf it starts adding up. I saw a write up from A&M touting the costs associated with keeping replacements while the market is so high. With your drought situation you may be better selling and not getting anything.
I've heard before keep your replacements when the price of calves is low. If you do the math on what it's going to cost to feed and keep her until she has a calf it starts adding up. I saw a write up from A&M touting the costs associated with keeping replacements while the market is so high. With your drought situation you may be better selling and not getting anything.
OP
OP
jersey lilly
Well-known member
Ya'll are gonna laff ....."Where did you get your cows to start with??"
Well About 15 or so years ago, We fed cows thru the winter for hubby's great uncle. He was in his 80s. He paid us with one bred heifer. That spring, we wired a house for another uncle, he paid us with one bred heifer, I don't remember exactly how we ended up with the third heifer. 1 hereford, 2 long horn hereford crosses. But anyway, we started out with three bred heifers ( bred to a black brangus bull). Kept nearly all heifer calves from then until about 5 years ago. Then we started saving only the good black hiefers. 2 years ago, we bought a herd from a man who was gettin outta the cow business. 34 cows, 32 calves, 2 bulls.(the other two cows had their calves after we moved them home) We now are to our limit. 120 head of mama's. I've bought more thru private treaty than thru any of the replacement sales. Most times they go for way more than I'm willin to pay for a cow. But I have bought a few over the years.
Alabama, we are at about 70% black now, so it won't be 14 years more till we are all black. If this one is kept, and bred, she may stay a few years, and she may not. Just depends on what kinda calf she has and raises and at what point we decide to send her down the road. yes if I kept that 1 heifer for 14 years I see where your comin from LOL but She won't stay that long. When it gets to the point that we have enuff replacement heifers, all the others of color will go on a trailer to the salebarn.
Well About 15 or so years ago, We fed cows thru the winter for hubby's great uncle. He was in his 80s. He paid us with one bred heifer. That spring, we wired a house for another uncle, he paid us with one bred heifer, I don't remember exactly how we ended up with the third heifer. 1 hereford, 2 long horn hereford crosses. But anyway, we started out with three bred heifers ( bred to a black brangus bull). Kept nearly all heifer calves from then until about 5 years ago. Then we started saving only the good black hiefers. 2 years ago, we bought a herd from a man who was gettin outta the cow business. 34 cows, 32 calves, 2 bulls.(the other two cows had their calves after we moved them home) We now are to our limit. 120 head of mama's. I've bought more thru private treaty than thru any of the replacement sales. Most times they go for way more than I'm willin to pay for a cow. But I have bought a few over the years.
Alabama, we are at about 70% black now, so it won't be 14 years more till we are all black. If this one is kept, and bred, she may stay a few years, and she may not. Just depends on what kinda calf she has and raises and at what point we decide to send her down the road. yes if I kept that 1 heifer for 14 years I see where your comin from LOL but She won't stay that long. When it gets to the point that we have enuff replacement heifers, all the others of color will go on a trailer to the salebarn.
