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More Red cattle photos

BRG

Well-known member
On our customer ranch visits the past week, I snapped a few quick photos of cattle we have sold over the last few years. It is nice to see them working for their owners.

A couple cows




A first calf heifer pair near Loup City, NE. They are planning on flushing her.


A bull at a ranch in NE
 

Whitewing

Well-known member
Man o man, what beautiful cattle.

This pic, I will definitely print out to show the guys at my place just how 'thick' the cattle can be in N. America.

Waller_cow1.jpg
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
I agree, she is thick. However, I'd like to see the calf she raises.
We have some cows that look like that, that aren't the best producers.
Not to fault this cow, it's just that I've seen the same type in
ours that disappointed me in their production. Perhaps they aren't
feminine enough? Now that's a question, not a statement.
 

BlackCattleRancher

Well-known member
The in between ones seem to be the best producers. If she is a fall calver in late 3rd stage, then that is what I like, but if she is a spring calver and calved 5 or 6 months ago, she is keeping too many groceries to herself and not milking it out to her calf.
 

BRG

Well-known member
BlackCattleRancher said:
The in between ones seem to be the best producers. If she is a fall calver in late 3rd stage, then that is what I like, but if she is a spring calver and calved 5 or 6 months ago, she is keeping too many groceries to herself and not milking it out to her calf.

No she calved in early April and has a big heifer calf at side (I would guess around 525 lbs). We breed them to be deep bodied and stay in good condition. Now it doesn't always work that way, but it is here.
 

Grassfarmer

Well-known member
What weight would that first cow be BRG? I'm guessing not under 1500lbs? Must say I'm not overly fond of that type of Red Angus with the huge brisket - it's rather like a throwback to the old paintings of "2500lb oxen" My biased opinion on this is based on a bad experience with a few like that we bought as commercials - they reared calves at or less than 1/3rd of the dams weight rather than the 50% some folks strive for.

I'm intrigued by your customer and the cow he is going to flush - why would anyone flush a young basically unproven cow?
 

BRG

Well-known member
I don't know her weight but I would guess around that 1500 lbs to 1550 lbs, but that is just a guess. The owner does feed quite well over the winter as he ownes a feedlot. But what I do know is she was by far the fleshiest cow in the herd and they were all fed the same. If her calf weighed 525 lbs last week(which is what I think it is), by time the calf is 205 days old, she will be wighing around that 50% of her dams weight.

I am not sure why someone would flush a cow of that age either, but all I know is they are very happy with her. Her dam has been flushed quite heavily by us and this girl is an embryo result as well.
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
We just weighed some calves yesterday from 4 old cows that were crippled and we didn't put a bull with them this summer as they will be sold. Their calves look really good. The cows look good as well, it was a great year for
them to put on weight. Just because I have an inquiring mind, we
weighed the calves and weighed the cows. The cows are aged, mind you,
and out of our earlier genetics. The calves averaged 525 lbs.
One was born April 6 and weighed 525. I did some fast math and she would have
been 158 days of age on Sept. 14. Assuming she weighed 80 lbs. at
birth (we don't have big calves here), that makes her gain 445 lbs. in
158 days, or 2.77 lbs. a day. You times that by 205 days and you get
567 lbs. Add the 80 lb bw and you get 647 lbs. A nice calf for sure, but not 50% of her mothers weight which was 1500 lbs. :shock:
(note; seeing the trend toward those big cows are why we changed to moderate bulls.)

So BRG, how could that red cow wean 50% of her body weight
when things are similar to what I found in these cows yesterday?
Am I figuring something wrong?
 

BRG

Well-known member
Faster horses said:
We just weighed some calves yesterday from 4 old cows that were crippled and we didn't put a bull with them this summer as they will be sold. Their calves look really good. The cows look good as well, it was a great year for
them to put on weight. Just because I have an inquiring mind, we
weighed the calves and weighed the cows. The cows are aged, mind you,
and out of our earlier genetics. The calves averaged 525 lbs.
One was born April 6 and weighed 525. I did some fast math and she would have
been 158 days of age on Sept. 14. Assuming she weighed 80 lbs. at
birth (we don't have big calves here), that makes her gain 445 lbs. in
161 days, or 2.77 lbs. a day. You times that by 205 days and you get
567 lbs. Add the 80 lb bw and you get 647 lbs. A nice calf for sure, but not 50% of her mothers weight which was 1500 lbs. :shock:
(note; seeing the trend toward those big cows are why we changed to moderate bulls.)

So BRG, how could that red cow wean 50% of her body weight
when things are similar to what I found in these cows yesterday?
Am I figuring something wrong?

The calf is about 150 day old when I saw her. She is right around 525 lbs that makes the calf gaining 3 lbs a day with an 80 lbs BW. Take 205 X 3lbs a day and you get about 700 lbs. I admit it is a bit under 50% but is close to it.
 

BRG

Well-known member
Faster horses said:
If the cow weighs 1550, the calf needs to weigh 775.
At 700 lbs. the ratio would be 45%. Not bad.

Right, and like I said earlier, the new owner does feed quite well during winter, so she is heavier than her genetics say she should be. I think she would be closer to a 1400 lbs cow, but who knows.

Plus I think their is more to it than just weaning 50% of their body weight. In the seedstock business we have to look at the total product, from birth all the way through kill. The animal needs to have the capacity to be efficient, and I think this type of cow does. They need to be big bodied to stay in good condition on grass, but yet have the growth potential for the feeder to make money or they won't buy your product again.

Anyway, thanks for the comments everyone! I always enjoy everyones take.
 
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