opinons on steer

[farmershane3]

any comments are appreciated thanks!

 

[vc]

Like the muscling that I can see from the picture, do not like his front end, way to straight on those legs.  It almost appears that he is starting to buckle at the knees at this time. From the picture it looks like you may want to consider other options. He will probably get worse as he gets older, will be real tough by fat stage.

VC

 

[Jive Turkey]

Could be a bit longer and he seems to have a bullish neck on him but I can't comment on his front leg as if it looks like he's not setup totally square.

I don't think he's a bad calf.

 

[farmermom]

Not a bad steer! What are your goals for him? That's question is key.  He would ok for our county fair.  I would be worried with that front end.  From the picture he does look very straight. VC is right that front end will only get worse the heaiver he gets.  I like a little for flank in a calf but that being picky. 

 

[farmershane3]

thank you for all the comments. yeah he always has toed out. he is mainly only for a county fair so he should do fairly well for that

 

[OH Breeder]

thank you for all the comments. yeah he always has toed out. he is mainly only for a county fair so he should do fairly well for that

The problem is when he hits 1100 he might be able to stand for long periods of time. We had one WMW steer got like that at finish. Last year kid showed a steer and when the judge wasn't looking he would push his front leg back in but the calf would buckle when he stood for long periods. When is your county and what does he weight at the moment? It is more than toes out. Stand back and look at his profile again. HIs front shoulder especially in relation to his hoof.

 

[BIGTEX]

looks like he needs a good hoof trimming!

 

[farmershane3]

our fair is the first week in august and not quite sure what he ways right now. he is a may 17th and was 580 in early december. is there any suggestions besides getting his hooves trimmed to not neccesarly help this problem but make it easier for him?

 

[fed_champions]

srry man, but there's nothingyou can do about that front end, he is too far gone for hoof trimming to work well, he's got really good pieces though, body, muscle, and balance, try to read that angle when ur buying a baby

 

[vc]

I will try and post 2 pictures one of your calf and one of a calf that is more correct, you can see the difference in the way the front legs leave the point of shoulder and reach the ground. (disclaimer: Calf is just one we took a picture at from Great Western 3 years ago)

 

[farmershane3]

okay i didnt think there was anything that you could do but i wasnt sure. it is only my second year with showing steers so i didnt quite realize that toeing out as a calf would have that much as an impact when he becomes a fat steer. thanks!!

 

[fed_champions]

Sometimes straight cattle wont toe out... a big indicator is the correlation of foot size, angle to pastern and to the shoulder... if the steer looks like he is standing on his toes instead of his heal, it is not good, also one who is corrrect up front, will toe straight forward with conservative base width and spread between the two hooves

 

[afhm]

Make sure to have someone very knowledgeable trim his feet.  On a calf that is straight the hoof grinder and the person holding it can very easily be your worst enemy.  Where are you?  I might can recommend someone.

 

[OH Breeder]

I will try and post 2 pictures one of your calf and one of a calf that is more correct, you can see the difference in the way the front legs leave the point of shoulder and reach the ground. (disclaimer: Calf is just one we took a picture at from Great Western 3 years ago)

I did the same thing but didn't get it posted. This is the best way to show someone the angles.
I would suggest finding an adviser or friend that you trust to help you look for calves. Or go to the right people.I truely believe there are good folks out there who will help kids out.
I would not sell that kind of a calf to a kid for a 4-H project. It is tough starting out. This board has lots of resources for you to utilize.

 

[farmershane3]

thank you for all the help. im in SW michigan, we are going to the spring expo at MSU this weekend so its a little late to trim him now but plan to get it done for our fair

 

[TrueVisionGenetics]

If you're going to have him in Lansing anyway, contact MSU.  They do a nice job, and it's affordable.  Otherwise there are a few other options for Michigan... talk to people at Beef Expo, sometimes word of mouth leads to good contacts.

 

[farmershane3]

okay thanks again everyone