Which heifers to keep, pick at them for me

[Nesikep]

Well, it's getting close to that time of year again when I start to look at what's on the menu for things I can keep...

Here are my top pics, though I don't have recent pictures of all of them... I'll work on that

This is Kama, the 16th calf of my old cow, and the last one I'm going to get... Old toothless girl still makes some of the best calves


this is full sister from last year

and the year before


This is Sofa, 2nd calf from this cow who has great milk and length, the calf has thick muscle throughout, not a very tall animal but quite stout... I figure she'll look a lot like her mother

 

[glacierridge]

Nice dimension and shape...
Should make some plumpy steers I would think.
Even though I've plenty of heifers, I'll take them both!

 

[Nesikep]

This one is Tatla, who's not all that tall either, but really thick... her mother's line has a lot of the same physical characteristics as Sofa's line... but not as easy to handle



This one is probably going to be left out.. she looked nice as a younger calf, but as she's aging, she's not developing as I'd have hoped, her mother is 10, and we've never kept a heifer from her, though she has been a trouble-free cow. I think her chest and waist look a bit pinched off... I don't think it would be a bad mistake keeping her, she just doesn't stand up to the rest


And there's one more I just can't find a recent picture of.. comes from a good cow, and we've kept a sister, but the sister was built much more stocky than this one... this one seems to be all legs and lacking muscle... I think she'd milk well, and perhaps be a good cow too... I'll update the picture next time around... Oh, and her name is Vatna

 

[Chuckie]

Are you limited to which ones you can keep?
I like Kama better than I do Roma. I might sell swap those two out if I was trying to replace her. That is only my thought. All of your calves are nice and I can't see one I would cull.
Keep them all.
What a beautiful place to live. Do you still the beauty there, or is it just your backyard now? :lol2:

 

[Chuckie]

Are you limited to how many you can retain? Is there a heifer here that you really want to keep?

 

[Nesikep]

Well, Roma is a long yearling now, no getting rid of her unless she messes up...

I think what most people will notice about Sofa is she has a really big tailhead, that picture doesn't show it too much... I don't think that affects performance that much though

I try and keep 3 a year, which is about a 15% replacement rate, I'd keep 4 but but the other 2 don't strike my fancy...

Note, I just noticed I posted the picture of Tatla twice, I'm updating that post with the picture of the calf I was thinking about

 

[Nesikep]

I don't seem to be able to edit it, so the 2nd picture in the second set was intended to be this one

She is relatively meaty, just doesn't have the chest capacity I look for

 

[Chuckie]

I do like Sofa the best. And I like Kama second. The others look good to me, but you can see the other details that don't suit you. They are nicely muscled girls. The little red and white calf is pretty too.

You are so lucky to live there.

 

[Nesikep]

you mean the last one I posted a picture of? That's Palma about 2 months ago


Just went to a big fair/rodeo, saw some nice animals there... some Black angus with asses 2 feet wide, though they really had their fur fluffed, and their legs looked like 4" fenceposts.. I think I could have brought Dinero (my 6 month old bull calf) and have been in the running for some prize.. I got some pics I'll try and post next week

 

[Nesikep]

I like Sofa the best for the meat, but I think Kama has the best build I've seen in a long time... great topline, reasonable meat, good chest and hooves too... both are great to work with, Sofa is a one-man cow, and is shy of people other than myself, while Kama LOVES anybody.

I've never kept any calves from the speckled cow, and she's the last of her maternal line... she's made nice steers, but her heifers just don't seem to have much late season gain and fall behind... she has been a trouble-free cow otherwise.

Here's a pic of my bull calf this year that's going to my neighbor, His mother is 7 years old, and maternal sister to Kama, and has the same father


and a line bred steer from my first timer Cenci (full sister to Kama), I'm impressed with her performance, though she's lost some condition in the process..



Here is another heifer I like, a first timer, and her mother is full sister to the bull calf... I think if it was her mother's 3rd calf or so, she'd have gained a bit more weight.. she's about 100-125 lbs off the pace, but meaty nevertheless. if a fellow really wanted to and kept her 2 years to breed she could do alright.




Oh, and I think Sofa was in heat today... she was bawling and skittish.. Frisky too, wanted to jump me, but that's nothing new so I'm not too sure.... 6 months old nearly to the day is pretty early... There is no bull around her though which is a good thing

 

[Nesikep]

Oh, and here are some pics of Vatna and Palma

Vatna, well, If she had as much muscle and depth as ears, she'd be great... I probably will keep her though


And Palma


and just for laughs..No, there is no Brahma influence!
(the last calf in the previous post I was saying was a bit small, with her mother)

 

[HDRider]

Not questioning your statement but,, that last one sure looks like there was a Brahma there.

 

[midtncattle]

Your view is awesome!

 

[Nesikep]

HDrider, nope, there isn't any, the ears were just really tired!... the cow is 1/2 Gelbvieh, 1/4 shorthorn, 1/8th saler, and 1/8th hereford...

 

[Nesikep]

Well, Sofa was in heat for the second time today, her weight is 675 by tape at 210 days, another heifer calf was in heat today, and got bred by the bull (but she's not a keeper), and Kama was in heat 4 days ago, her weight is 655 at 195 days... All 3 of them were at 190 or 191 days old... is that a magic number? Anyhow, it's good to know that 2 of my 4 replacements are cycling already (and they're not near a bull), the other 2 are around a bull but are younger and not as heavy... I might give them a shot of lute in a month or two to be on the safe side and not get surprised in july.

 

[Nesikep]

OK, I've weaned off the replacements, the oldest (Sofa) is 260 days old, and the youngest is about 235, so they've all had plenty of milk

Here are some pictures

Kama, which I think is overall the best of them


Sofa, Pretty good, but a bit a protruding tailhead,.. really thick and meaty, medium frame, linebred 3/4 GV


Tatla, nicely built, but could use a bit more size


Vatna, too leggy to be what I consider really nice, but I think she'll make good calves.. she'll be a big girl when she grows up