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More of the same...

WyomingRancher

Well-known member
Here is the remaining Galloway cross cow left on the place... she's eleven this spring :D .
Calving2010284.jpg


Here's her heifer calf... she may be a keeper :D .
Calving2010283.jpg


We kept and bred all of the heifers born in 2008. I've concluded after this experiment, I know absolutely nothing about heifer selection :roll: :? :lol: . My "top pick" was open, and these "less than desireables" have had the best calves.
Calving2010299.jpg


The grey heifer's calf :D
Calving2010301.jpg


I never could figure out why this heifer was a little flighty...until the sun shone in her eyes one day, and I could see they were crossed :shock: .
Calving2010295.jpg


Her calf :D
Calving2010298.jpg


I don't think the corrals are going to melt in time for branding on the 10th :roll:
Calving2010305.jpg


Jim helped me doctor a sick cow today. He has cussed the snow daily for six months straight, but I pointed out it has kept him in shape :lol: . How many other 75 year olds are roping cows on foot?
Calving2010307.jpg


The pairs are very happy with the ground which opened up this week...life is good! I'm glad to have them back into the timber.
Calving2010311.jpg


She's on top of the world
Calving2010319.jpg
 

per

Well-known member
Thanks WR I enjoyed the tour. My ability to pick hfs is not unlike yours. We take the odds (one or two amazons and the small ones) off and breed all the rest for a short period of time. Never is my pick the best producer either.
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
Thanks for the pictures, WR.

Our old neighbor in Wyoming who
was a Hereford man, kept all his heifers and bred them
every year. He never culled them til he preg tested them as
coming 3 year olds. He said very seldom did the ones he picked
that he thought would be the best cows, turned out that way.
He maintained the longer you could keep the heifers, the
easier it was to cull the undesirable ones.
 

Jassy

Well-known member
I'm gonna send ya our 78 degree weather today to help out on melting that snow! Yur right might be a little tuff to brand in...Heifers and calves all look healthy and still have a heavy coat of hair..hope that doesn't mean that there is alot more winter ahead!
 

Big Swede

Well-known member
Thanks for the pictures, it puts my snowdrifts in perspective. I don't have to look too far to find someone who has it tougher than me. Will your snow soak in or is your ground still frozen?
 

gcreekrch

Well-known member
Dandy bunch of calves WR.

In a short 7 months the hay should be in the stackyard and Jim can start cussing snow again. :wink:
 

Haytrucker

Well-known member
The best (in my opinion, now) heifer I ever kept was the sixth one I could get in the trailer to go with the bull. The first five were hand picked, and I was lookin' over the rest. I thought I knew which one I wanted in the loading pen, but after about three times by, a little short brown haired darlin' spooked in there, and I thought why not? Number 13 weighed 1085# bred when I sold those cows, and had never replaced herself in 11 years but had raised 11 640# or so steer calves. I don't have computer records to prove that, but I've got the sale barn receipts. A couple years into her production I started questioning my judging ability.
 

Denny

Well-known member
I've got one like that a 97 model she was a tailender and back then I kept every heifer calf turns out she was the cream of the crop she'll calve any day here.
 

PATB

Well-known member
I will be trying a new sorting method for heifers the next few years. When we process in the fall for weaning shots and weighing the ones that handle well will get to stay. I cut the herd back heavy last fall due to feed situation so I will keep most heifers for the next several years. I may sell the extremes on both ends, twins and the bad dispoistions ones.
 

Northern Rancher

Well-known member
I try and identify heifers out of the cows I perceive to fit our goals-bad udders,feet or disposition get tagged different-not worried much about phenotype. Those little smokies are the most underated cow in the business-we've got terminal Angus now I suppose there can be maternal Charolais lol. Were all out of snow here should be dusty for calving.
 

WyomingRancher

Well-known member
Yes, the heifer selection has been enlightening. All of the late born heifers calved in the very beginning, and the few left are older ones, a few of which started cycling while still on the cow. I never keep those early cycling ones before for this reason.

Another observation is the heifers who delivered larger calves, had big birth weights themselves. Luckily I've only pulled three. Since I calve alone, I really can't compromise calving ease, and this just confirmed what I already believed... bull selection only goes so far :wink: :D .

Big Swede, the ground is still frozen. Yesterday warmed to 60, and it really melted and settled the drifts. It's supposed to snow tonight again. March 20 through the first of May is typically the worst stretch of weather up here, so we'll see what happens next :shock:. I'm just happy most are calved out and back into good shelter.
 

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