Hi all, long time reader, first time poster. Raise PB cattle and judged but new to the show game with young kids. I have a few questions for those who are more into the show cattle side of things.
1. What factors are included when deciding whether to show vs grow and sell as a bred heifer? Are you taking only the cream of the crop for your show calves, growing and breeding the other keepers for replacement sales? Does it have to do with birth dates / room in the show barn, etc? Preferred matings? Trying to hit a certain number of each?
I'm guessing these bred heifers aren't prior show calves, as they'd probably still be being shown at that age.
2. If I'm wanting to add in some show genetics, I'm under the impression that these calves need to be on feed fairly quick in order to be competitive. Knowing that only a few will go to the show barn, I'm assuming this means all the calves for that calving season are creep fed. Are these "leftover" calves taken off creep once the show calves are weaned and hit the barn?
3. At what stage after selecting the show calves and weaning them are they going into seperate pens to be fed individually?
4. We don't raise bulls but curious as to what age show steers are cut if any different than feeder steers.
My apologies if this seems elementary to the show world. Some of our calves end up in bred sales and some end up in the sale barn, we try not to be pasture blind. Just haven't taken anything on like this and I'm always seeing these bigger cattle companies with a bunch of open show heifers for sale as well as bred heifers in other sales and wonder how they come up with it.
Thanks in advance!
1. What factors are included when deciding whether to show vs grow and sell as a bred heifer? Are you taking only the cream of the crop for your show calves, growing and breeding the other keepers for replacement sales? Does it have to do with birth dates / room in the show barn, etc? Preferred matings? Trying to hit a certain number of each?
I'm guessing these bred heifers aren't prior show calves, as they'd probably still be being shown at that age.
2. If I'm wanting to add in some show genetics, I'm under the impression that these calves need to be on feed fairly quick in order to be competitive. Knowing that only a few will go to the show barn, I'm assuming this means all the calves for that calving season are creep fed. Are these "leftover" calves taken off creep once the show calves are weaned and hit the barn?
3. At what stage after selecting the show calves and weaning them are they going into seperate pens to be fed individually?
4. We don't raise bulls but curious as to what age show steers are cut if any different than feeder steers.
My apologies if this seems elementary to the show world. Some of our calves end up in bred sales and some end up in the sale barn, we try not to be pasture blind. Just haven't taken anything on like this and I'm always seeing these bigger cattle companies with a bunch of open show heifers for sale as well as bred heifers in other sales and wonder how they come up with it.
Thanks in advance!
