Low WW high YW

Is anyone aware if it's possible to select for low weaning weight and high yearling weight or if there is any research on this?

What would be the advantage to selecting for a low weaning weight? and particularly if your goal was a high yearling weight?

Cardinal_Crest_Shorthorns said:

What would be the advantage to selecting for a low weaning weight? and particularly if your goal was a high yearling weight?

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More calves on same feed. Goal of high weaning weight remains.

Just trying to change/compress the growth curve. Its already been shortened with early maturing cattle. 

Using EPD's one could mate poor ww bulls to high yw bulls over time and may get that. Only point I see in that is more cows/calves per acre needing less input then explode in the feedlot.

Maybe the best way to do it is with hybrid vigor and low quality feed 1 month before weaning.

trevorgreycattleco said:

Only point I see in that is more cows/calves per acre needing less input then explode in the feedlot.

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Bingo

I may be looking at it the wrong way, but how would that give an advantage to the cow/calf producer over high weaning weights? I see that there could be more calves on equal input (or the same amount of calves on less input), but the requirements for the cows are going to be the same. So you would be feeding, breeding, vaccinating etc. the cows at the same cost, with lighter calves to sell buy the pound at the end.

I think you would need low input, medium performance cows bred to high output terminal bulls -- total terminal cross to pull off the ability to run more cows on marginal land base while getting the performance once the calves are weaned.  Would not want to keep replacement heifers out of this cross.

Hasn't the black angus breed been doing this already; high marbling, high grade = low milk, poor leg structure 

(Geesh, relax, it was is a general joke.... I think!)    <beer>


Edit: I wanted to explain the theory. Low milking cows with high carcass will produce light weaning (no milk) and high yearling (feed added).  Most of the time this is masked with full feed creep feeders. 

I suppose in theory if you were strictly marketing pounds at weaning, more cows with more calves that wean at a lighter weight per acre would produce more money.

20 cows X 20 calves weighing 600 pounds = 12000 lbs per acre  X $1.60 = $19200.00
30 cows X 30 calves weighing 500 pounds = 15000 lbs per acre  X $1.70 = $25500.00
$25500.00 - $19200.00 = $6300.00 additional income with lighter weight calves 

Plus if you did not creep feed them, you would have no additional cost.....

Sounds pretty good to me!!!  <beer> <beer>  (That's a two beer salute!)

But are you really going to be able to increase you cow herd by 50% and only sacrifice less than 17% of your weight per calf? Idk, I am just asking

Of course not

What about twinning of beef cattle? Is it good? It would sure me high management. Cattle are worth alot of money.....so if you double that....I'm just saying. There have been a few people linebreed to increase twinning.

Sounds like the new draugth resistant cattle-lets starve the cattle by overgrazing,or using poor or non-existant milkers:because we all know that calves that are mal-nourished (similar to a calf orphaned at 3 months) just catch right up with everything else in no time-regardless of the fact that they are stunted: that thier rumens are basically shrunken-etc.  O0

I don't really follow the question......but if you wanted to increase stocking rate.....you could early wean cows.......wean calves at say three months age but still have inputs on the early weaned calves unless a feedlot or backgrounder buys them. You can't speed up gestation so you still could basically calve only once a year. You might push it to every 11 months if you weaned calf off cow immediately after partuition.

I can kind of see where you are going with this but I'm not sure the beneficiary is the guy who ships them wet off of the cow. My family backgrounds and then sells them at yearling or retain to get paid on the grid. This system works well but just as in your article you posted there is a point of diminishing returns. The way to get low WW high YW cattle is to breed for less milk. Of course I have already seen it on here, people thinking this is going to run into no milking limousin cows (pardon the cheap shot) but you don't have to go extreme in everything you do. We strive for moderate milk, enough to get them on their feet healthy and get a good start in life but not enough to go brag in the coffee shop. What this does is alows us to select for low maintenance cows that still have enough genetic power to grow one to 1300 lb finishing weights without requireing a high nutrition plane to rebreed. The calves graze over the winter and get supplemented so they express minimal growth and when they hit green grass the gain very well for an extended period of time and then go on to the feedlot to continue the gain. I'm not saying this is for everyone, in fact I would not recomend it for the cow/calf guy that sells bawlers unless you are getting something on the back side from a repeat buyer.  Just a thought.