4-h calf

[1234ro]

I know this is supposed to be for chickens but... i was wondering if anyone one could give me tips of picking a 4-h calf. Im going to be showing a hollstien, and i have many to choose from. Also there is a red hollstien and i was wondering if that gets you docked points for not having the typical black and white hollstien. thanks!

 

[sourland]

Go to the "Miscellaneous" forums and click on the backyardherds website. Someone there should be able to provide the advice that you want.

 

[WallabyOfChaos]

I would go to the Holstein association website and read as much as I could about the breed standards and how the cattle are judged and scored, then apply that information in selecting your calf. Here is their "Holstein 101" page describing what makes a "good" cow: http://www.holsteinusa.com/holstein_breed/holstein101.html?tab=5#TabbedPanels1
There are also links on that page to the scorecards and dairy judging workbooks.

 

[res]

We are going thru the same thing right now with our daughter and showing a 4-H beef project.

First thing I would recommend is to call your county/borough 4-H office. I am assuming that Canadian 4-H works in the same manner as US 4-H and that you have a county office. I called my office last week and got QUITE an education about showing cattle in 4-H.

What I learned is that showing cattle in my region/state is UBER competitive. As in, most 4-H kids spend THOUSANDS purchasing their project calf, and often purchase from many states away. They also purchase calves born as close to Jan 1st as possible, so the calves are as big as possible by county/state fair show time. The 4-H show scene has changed drastically in the 30 years since I was competing - back then, you purchased the best animal you could find locally, and everyone was on pretty similar footing. Nobody had an advantage of a high-dollar, superior genetic animal.

What we have purchased is a local black baldie steer that was born on June 10th, and while his father is a superior genetic bull, his mother is "average" and so is he. We don't have a snowball's chance in Haides to compete in any "market steer" classes, but my daughter still wants to compete in showmanship.

I would encourage you to talk to someone in 4-H and get the scoop before you get too far into your project. And do it soon, as here in the US, animals entered in the 2014 fairs have to be purchased by Jan 1st, 2014.

 

[1234ro]

thanks for the advice that what i ended up doing, and now i have the perfect calf, eclipce