any cattle people out there!!!

[Godsgrl]

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Thank you for the beautiful picture. I've never seen a bull in that color before, he is a looker!

 

[Godsgrl]

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I know very little about cattle, but the last set of pictures don't even look like real cows. Their legs appear way too big, and not sized correctly. Especially the one in the snow. Can you tell me about them? Thanks!

 

[Lothiriel]

We have a 5 year old Jersey. Here's Daisy...

Last year's bull calf, Little Guy

This year's bull calf, Hamilton (he's SO much bigger now -- this was when he was about 2 weeks old, and he's a little over 2 months now!)

 

[OtterCreekRanch]

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I know very little about cattle, but the last set of pictures don't even look like real cows. Their legs appear way too big, and not sized correctly. Especially the one in the snow. Can you tell me about them? Thanks!

They are what they call club calf bulls. A cross breed bred specifically to produce show steers and heifers. Usually some mixture of Maine Anjou, Chianina, Shorthorn, Angus and occasionally Simmental. They are bred to have traits to the extreme that are very specific as to what would make a show calf stand out in the ring. One of those traits is hair. All of those bulls have a tremendous amount to hair compared to a "regular" animal. They even add fake hair. The bulls do not have legs any different than standard cattle, but they have all the extra hair that is shaped into a larger leg. This gives them the appearance of having more bone and can also hide some flaws in the way their legs are made. The hair in general is a great way to hide flaws anywhere on the animal and can even make them look thicker than they are. A good groomer can turn a average calf with good hair into a champion by "faking it". That is why a lot of shows, especially in the south are what is called slick shows...that is where the steers are shown with their hair shaved down to an 1/8 of an inch or shorter. This way you cannot hide a calf's flaws, but you can see what they are really like. Breeding cattle are usually shown fully groomed (like the bulls pictured) in most breeds, though most breeds do not have as extreme hair as these particular bulls.

A good judge of cattle can see through all the hair to what the animal is really like. That is one of the challenges of selecting bulls to use from Artifical Insemenation. All we get to see is that picture and we have to determine from that what kind of stuctural intergrety the bull has and if the calves will be able to move correctly. It is a hard thing to do because the bull owner will do whatever is necessary to hide any and all flaws the bull has.

 

[Godsgrl]

Thank you OtterCreekRanch. I have learned something new today. Never would I have guessed the difference in their legs would be hair. I appreciate you taking the time to explain all of this to me. Good luck with your upcoming calf crop.

 

[roocrazy]

yep. a picture dosnt say much. with hair you can make the worst looking calf pretty good.

 

[roocrazy]

well today i found out im showing a limmy/angus cross steer next year.

 

[roocrazy]

what are the chances my heifer wont take if i AI her????

 

[OtterCreekRanch]

There is a very real chance your heifer might not take when you AI her. Even good AI techs can have as low as 60% conception rate on the first go round. The best chance of her getting pregnant is to have her done by someone with a lot of experience that can guide you as to when the best time to actually breed her during her estrus will be. Most of the cattle that we have AIed that did not get pregnant on the first time breeding them did so because we were either too early or too late into their heat cycle.

 

[roocrazy]

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maybe for my first time along with hers have her be bred naturally by my uncles heatseeker bull? oh wow... this IS harder than i thought. i want shorthorn... maybe use my friends bull, but when you do it naturally isnt there a chance the bull wouldnt want her? shell be 13 mos when i hope to get her bred. should i use a seeder??