My New Heifer Update *Pics*

[showsteerdlux]

I don't know of any product from nutrena/acco/showmaster. Since you don't have access to sunglo I guess just regular beet pulp will have to work.

 

[Jill]

Really nice calf.

 

[Telos]

I too thinks she a very nice heifer. Jason Jensen is a great trader. Have a bunch of fun with her. Don't get her too fat so she will make a cow.

 

[TottenClubCalves]

she weighed 715 this weekend at the show and took 3rd behind a 13 month old ali heifer and a red limi heifer that was around 14 months she was the second youngest heifer in the class out of eight so I'm pleased for what the circumstances where.

 

[shortyjock89]

Yeah, I would say that you did a respectable job at that last show. I wouldn't worry about trying to win with her for a couple more months. She seems to be growing pretty dang nicely.  I would love to find a heifer like that for $1800, I think that you'll have alot of fun with her.

 

[farmboy]

i like her, she looks like duplicate of my little sunseeker only black and white, shes got nics hair on her and a little better neck than mine, really thick and not a little toothpick "femeine" heifer you know. She posses great THICKNESS AND MUSCLE id like to see her pass on to a son. I think you stole her for 1800  (clapping)

EDIT:that work for ya

 

[TottenClubCalves]

i like her, she looks like duplicate of my little sunseeker only black and white, shes got nics hair on her and a little better neck than mine, really thick and not a little toothpick "femeine" heifer you know. She posses great masculinity id like to see her pass on to a son. I think you stole her for 1800  (clapping)

yeah I can't wait to see what type of calves she throws. I personally think that she could throw some pretty impressive bull calves myself

 

[shortyisqueen]

not a little toothpick "femeine" heifer you know. She posses great masculinity id like to see her pass on to a son.

Ummm...masculine heifers don't have sons...or daughters for that matter.

There's a huge difference between femininity and frailty.

 

[knabe]

not a little toothpick "femeine" heifer you know. She posses great masculinity id like to see her pass on to a son.

Ummm...masculine heifers don't have sons...or daughters for that matter.

There's a huge difference between femininity and frailty.

this is one of thee most difficult things for me.  was having a discussion the other day about just this topic and fertility.  if i have an over testosteroned east german track star, how am i ever going to get a calf out of her, let alone get any milk out of her.  she's a terminal cross.  for me, i have difficulty understanding what optimum is and what specific phenotypic traits yield what problems.  how much cushion is designed into the spinal column around the shoulder area and what is the ideal flow of the column and can one even "see" it, as opposed to the fins that stick up from the vertebrae to give the impression of a straight top?

 

[TottenClubCalves]

umm shortyqueen I don't think that this heifer is at all masculine I was qouting him fro what type of calves she would throw. In person wet down she is a thick made calve but not by any means steery. She has alot of depth of body and is structurally sound. A heifer shouldn't look like a steer but yet a little thickness could never hurt.

 

[knabe]

what DOES a bull look like out of a masculine cow, if there is one.  an excess of secondary sex characteristics? tight muscled?  hoarse?  all bone and no muscle?  coarse jointed?  any actual studies on hormone level and phenotype of both sexes?

 

[farmboy]

umm shortyqueen I don't think that this heifer is at all masculine I was qouting him fro what type of calves she would throw. In person wet down she is a thick made calve but not by any means steery. She has alot of depth of body and is structurally sound. A heifer shouldn't look like a steer but yet a little thickness could never hurt.

exactly

 

[Bawndoh]

I REALLY think that a LOT of people have lost the definition of masculine and feminie all together.  Feminine, does NOT by any means pertain to frailty.  Feminine, means "female" characteristics.  Having embryo's, looking more like a female than a male, being able to raise offspring, and rebreed.  I dont understand where "feminine" has EVER came in to describe phenotype.  This also pertains to masculinity.  Masculine....having male characteristics, strenght, and boldness.  I think people ought to rethink the definitions of these words used to describe animals.
I agree that this heifer is really broody, and will make a FABULOUS cow because you can tell by her conformation and natural conditioning that she is hardy enough to raise good looking bull calves, steers, and brood cows.  I would even go as far to say that she is an ideal female to have around, because she could be bred to any type of bull, to raise the calf that you desire...whether it be a very pretty, refined show heifer, or a rugged, "nuts, butts, and guts" herd bull.

 

[shortyjock89]

Isn't looking like one sex or the other completely phenotypical? I guess I'm still confused.  If a female looks like a female, then she, by definition, has a feminine phenotype..and same with males.  I think that you use broody to describe what I would call feminine. 

 

[TottenClubCalves]

well if you don't mind me asking do you guys (and gals) think that she possibly could be donor material?

 

[shortyjock89]

well if you don't mind me asking do you guys (and gals) think that she possibly could be donor material?

It depends on if you want to keep her calves in your herd, or if you're just interested in selling the embryos, or if you want to sell the ET calves. Or all three!! lol.  Today, I would say that she looks awesome.  I would really like to wait and see how she looks after having at least one calf.  We are just now starting our own ET program, and our lead donor has had three calves, and is just now being put in the donor pen. 

Summary of all that junk: She looks good today, if she still looks good and is a good momma after she calves, then I would seriously consider flushing her. 

 

[showsteerdlux]

I would say that you don't know if she is donor material until not only she has her first calf, but also raises it in the pasture with minumum supplement and is still in good condition herself. That said she is a dandy of a heifer but that is what she is... A heifer. Don't get me wrong because I like her alot and I hope she wins alot for you but in the end do you want future genetics out of her if she doesn't produce a high quality calf when she just has the basics on pasture.

 

[shortyisqueen]

TottenClubCalves, I was not at all calling your heifer steery or masculine. The original words of Zach stated she possessed 'great masculinity' and wasn't a 'feminine type female' (this has since been edited) - my statement was in regards to his comment, as I don't feel that masculine-type heifers are what we should be shooting for. I did not call your heifer either masculine or feminine, but simply stated as a general rule that females that aren't feminine aren't good producers. So my apologies if I caused some offense, which I apparently did.

Knabe, I don't think I've ever seen a masculine heifer go on to produce a (good) bull. Usually, they can't get in calf or if they do, they don't have enough milk to feed it. (Over-testosteroned, East German track star!!! - case in point). An embryologist explained to me that, on occassion, some of these steery females release an egg every month, so you see them cycling, but their hormone levels are out of wack, so the egg they release contains no genetic material. ie, All the semen in the world is not going to get them in calf. I imagine its the same thing with milking ability. The hormones or lack thereof cause under-development of the mammary tissue and viola - no milk. To be theoretical, though, if a steery type female could produce a bull, I suspect it would be the opposite of the female - light muscled, frail, small scrotal development, lack of secondary sex characteristics.

And now, back to the heifer. She's a good one, and you've got her looking good. Saying she's going to make a fabulous cow based on a picture is going a bit far for a 700 lb heifer calf. Not to see the glass as half empty, but S*** happens and she has a long way to go before her progeny make it to the ring. If you read through these boards, you can see heifers that are open, heifers that aborted, heifers with reproductive problems, heifers that are not bred at two years of age, not to mention the ones that got struck by lightning, and the list goes on. On top of over-coming the odds that sometimes they don't work (I figure one third of the entire crop of  heifer calves born at any discerning place will make it through the culling (and self-culling) process to make cows), to make a donor cow, she has to have the ability to stamp the majority of her calves with her impressive phenotype. This doesn't always happen and there has been more than one show ring champion that's turned into a show-ring dud because they did not possess the ability to breed better than themselves.

Flushing is not always rewarding and it is never cheap. Flushing a virgin heifer is asking for a poor return on your investment. Getting ten calves on the ground that are duds because you were unaware of her genetic strength is also a poor return for your investment. When she's four years old (or eight) and her calves are walking through the ring and making short work of the competition or selling to commercial producers for a $5000 average, then it is a good time to think about flushing.

The cattle business is made up of hard work and dumb luck. Hanging a show halter on a heifer does not a donor cow make.

*Rant over*

 

[kimbaljd]

Very flashy and good looking heifer. Great deal on the price too.

 

[farmboy]

she is very nice