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Are your Heifers too fat?

I

IluvAltaBeef

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Jan 3, 2007
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Alberta
Let me know if this has been discussed on here before, but I couldn't help but do a little reading on this.

Seems like the show heifers are being overfed at an age that they're reaching their puberty and they're reproductive organs are at the stage of final growth and development, which would be at around 8 to 13 months.
And this overfeeding would hamper (or even retard) their effectiveness to becoming replacement heifers or just being able to calve properly thus wasting the time and money of the producer who aimed making a paticular show heifer (who was initially growing at 1.5#/day, now had increased to 2.5#/day on an extra ration of grain just because she's being showed) a future replacement heifer for his/her herd. Not anymore. She's better off at the feedlot, if you can't make her loose that extra weight some way or another.




Now for my "dumbass" question. Does this overweight thing apply to ONLY showcattle, or can it apply to heifers in general, depending on the feedstuff/diet that your giving them?
 
If you've ever seen how dairy guys treat their replacements you'd see how they feel fat affects future milk production. That being said a heifer that is too thin to be bred has zero milk production because she isn't lactating. ourselves we winter our replacements on straight hay then breed off the grass in late July/August. Overfat grainfed heifers have a tough time-there's usually only about 25% of the yearling 4H heifers make it back to show as pairs the next year.
 
Too fat isn't good in replacement heifers. You want them grown out and
developed, but definitely not fat.

I think they figure 1.50-1.75#/day is what a replacement heifer
should gain during the winter to develop and breed well.
Of course some heifers do it with less than that.
Getting them bred the first year and then keeping them bred
each year thereafter is the goal. Hurting them by not
feeding them what is necessary when they are developing
during their first winter can come back to bite you in many ways.
 
"IluvAltaBeef said
"Now for my "dumbass" question. Does this overweight thing apply to ONLY showcattle, or can it apply to heifers in general, depending on the feedstuff/diet that your giving them?"

Overfeeding heifers can certainly result in decreased milk production as mature cows as overfat heifers deposit fat cells in the udder. It really makes me sick to see a purebred heifer show these days. Many of the heifers look like they would be grade 4's.
 
My heifers tend to go to grass a little on the thin side.Our bred heifers are nearly as big as our cows right now.We have rented a pasture that has tremendous grass and the heifers really grow well on it.Our heifers are getting grass hay and 11#s of wet distillars grain per day which figures out to 4#s dry matter they are in really good shape maybe a little to good but they are sure easy to look at.

I bought some fat bred heifers about 6 years ago they have never really amounted to much as far as cows go.Out of 25 head we only halve about 2/3 of them left and of those several have very bad feet and raise dink calves but they are fat cows.
 
Maybe somebody mentioned this and I missed it but one of the number one problems with too much fat too early is depositing fat in the mammary gland cells while developing. This will lead to lower milk production durring lactation. I have a strong dairy background and this is well known fact in the industry. It applies to beeves as well. Lean tissue growth durring prepubertal heifer growth is what you want.
 
Fat is a big reason-I've seen the greener yearling that placed last come back and win the whole deal with her calf as a pair several times. 4H is a great deal all four kids are in it but it sometimes sends the wrong message.
 
Having shown in 4-H from the when I was first old enough to when I was too old, I can fully agree. I've had that opinion for several years now. 4-H focuses way too much on the showring. There is a lot more in the real world then the show ring. I will say that my envolvement in 4-H is the only rease I went on to get a BS in Animal Science.
 
Yes, amny of the heifers are WAY too fat, and the focus is way too much on the showring, not on production, management, and growing a good momma cow.

That's why I dont give mine more than some feed pellets every day and a little bit of oats once ina while. :wink:
 
FH & Ben H pretty much sum it up. It's really sad that 4-H is not about teaching a kid to raise an animal and maybe see some profit from the effort. When I was in 4-H I bought my steers from the ranch and got to pocket any of the profit. I paid the feed, did the work, and got little in return other than the satisfaction and knowledge.

My neice and nephew are doing it now and it's a shame. My in-laws or we do the work, the kid goes in the ring, does a bad job, and gets the money. What's the point?

This isn't how my kids will do it. Either they will do it or they wont. The worst part is that I really got into it when I got going. We showed cattle at NILE, MT State Fair, County fairs and went to Denver with a few of ours and some big time ranches. I worked for several big Polled Hereford outfits and always got to get down on the "good ones". It was fun, I had a blast and met lots of good people because of it.

My favorite memory was helping fit NJW Wrangler 19D at Reno. He was a big SOB that liked to step on your feet in the washrack, and then stand like a poodle in the fitting chute!!

I just hope my kids have the opportunity to do that and know that they worked to do something well.
 
Sure the 4H heifers get too fat. A lot of the club activities don't work in the world of making cattle most profitable. But the focus of 4H is the kids. Them learning to like cattle and how certain management practices cause what results. That really seems to work good. One of the best programs out there. It is abused in some cases, as is any activity, but still does a lot of kids a lot of good.
 
I think that half of problem with our area is that the right people are not invold. Not saying that I am the best, but I think I should get involed with it before my kids( that aren't even born yet, but...) are ready for it.

We have a show here that was set up with a ultrasound steer show. It's a very well run show for the steers, but heifers walk in dripping sweat cause their so fat. This is even an AAA sanctioned show. I said that since the AAA is promoting ultrasound at NWSS, why don't we do it here? "They don't give enough money for support"

BS, if it is sanctioned, they're covering the ultrasound fees.

We will hopefully get it implemented this summer, I hope.
 
Just to bring this back to the top...

Boy, this sure is interesting! :)

One thing I'm surprised to learn on here is the 4H thing...how can they be like that? My cousin is in 4H, and it seems like he focuses more on getting his showcalf in the ring just to get some money and a title in the club.

And here I thought it was a kid's club where you learn to care for your calf...not fatten it up to get more money. :???: :?
 
Used and abused, 4H is still a wonderful program.

I've had more than one employer that hire young people,
tell me that the kids that have been 4H members just seem to be a bit better employees all the way around. They work together with others
better, are more articulate and out-going.

4H has so much to offer and most kids don't just take
a livestock project.
 
Yes, 4-H does wondeful things. I don't think anyone will argue with that. But if only the large animal projects didn't focus on something that is not reality for the industry.
 

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