blackdiamond
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2012
- Messages
- 384
OH Breeder said:What are you breeding them for? I am so confused. Show or Production?
Olson Family Shorthorns said:Probably the best fleshing calf you've posted (at least in some time). .
Can you share your suggestions for proper calving management? I'm having a real tough time believing that but would really be interested in your ideas. I don't feed any grain to my cows, ever, and have had plenty of issues out of Shorthorn show genetics.Olson Family Shorthorns said:Also, just thought you may like to learn that fat show heifers can have calves, and maybe even nurse them. The heifer in my avatar calved yesterday, had a 62 lb heifer calf, and had it up and nursing on its own in 45 minutes. I'm fairly certain that at least 60% of the issues people have with calving Shorthorns are down to management practices.
Haha, well should I start another topic? Probably... I'll call it "Calving management and practices".Olson Family Shorthorns said:What kinds of problems? I just can't believe that my family is just that lucky when it comes to calving. Maybe we have less of the very prominent matings, but we truly have fewer problems than what most people talk about.
I feed native prairie grasses also and have been for quite a while now. It is not their whole diet but is significant enough.-XBAR- said:I've come to the conclusion its a management issue as well. Grain or roughage isn't the issue. High energy rations are the issue. Lots of forages especially in the north with TDNs over 70%. I can feed my cows a ration w/ all the native hay here they want along with a few lbs of cottonseed cubes/day and their ration will still be considerably lower TDN and probably lower protein too than a lot of people feeding 'no grain' rations.
I wasn't starting an argument either but sincerely wanted to hear your thoughts on the issue. Sounds like you have a great herd of cattle to me. I'm definitely jealous of that performance and especially out of heifers that look like the one in your avatar. She is a beautiful animal for sure. Don't get me wrong, I've got some good performing cows and I love Shorthorns. I'm not going anywhere but I'm sure as heck going to make some changes genetically to find another avenue without the problems.Olson Family Shorthorns said:Well maybe you should? I'm not trying to start an argument with you, but if all Shorthorns calve so hard, why don't we have more problems? Basically we just don't feed the cows any grain for the last 3-4 months, and keep a close eye when we know they're close. We also don't fool around and wait for a cow that's having trouble to tire herself out. If one is having a problem, we just jump in with the chains and usually we have a calf very shortly. Perhaps we've selected more for calving ease in our herd more than I've realized. We do try to avoid using bulls that we know full well will cause problems with certain cows, but that doesn't mean we use calving-ease only sires. I wouldn't say that our herd sire is bred for calving ease, but we have had to assist very few of those at birth, and we nearly never have to help them nurse.
Olson Family Shorthorns said:How do you feel about them structurally?