cattegirl13
New member
Sorry never mind this I think I've got the steer picked out! I'll post pictures when he's home though! Thanks!
2013 Steer
- Thread starter cattegirl13
- Start date
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Choosing a steer by the breeding is not the best way to go about it, the animal, how it moves, how it is put together and it attitude is much more important than it linage. Which calf is at the right weight now to be ready for your fair.
Start at the feet and work your way up, then legs, hocks, knees, lower quarter, flank, heart girth, rib, hip, shoulder, top, neck, balance and then hair. How they move, do they track well or are the short strided, is there a noticeable hitch in their getalong? Do they have that "wow" factor, something that just catches your eye and makes you look at them again?
Really the only reason we looked at the sire and dam was to see if there was something to be worried about, known attitude, structure problems we should look for, growth issues, did they have the breeding to be stay small or grow huge.
Choosing a heifer I would care about linage, a steer I would pick the animal that put everything together the best.
Start at the feet and work your way up, then legs, hocks, knees, lower quarter, flank, heart girth, rib, hip, shoulder, top, neck, balance and then hair. How they move, do they track well or are the short strided, is there a noticeable hitch in their getalong? Do they have that "wow" factor, something that just catches your eye and makes you look at them again?
Really the only reason we looked at the sire and dam was to see if there was something to be worried about, known attitude, structure problems we should look for, growth issues, did they have the breeding to be stay small or grow huge.
Choosing a heifer I would care about linage, a steer I would pick the animal that put everything together the best.
Agreed. Good bloodlines are definitely a plus. Generally speaking, though, phenotype is a lot more important than pedigree, particularly with steers.
Welcome to SP. It's an interesting forum. You'll see pretty quickly it's kinda like a 1st grade reader...people like lots of pictures!
Welcome to SP. It's an interesting forum. You'll see pretty quickly it's kinda like a 1st grade reader...people like lots of pictures!
The pedigrees absolutely complete the puzzle, but the point here is nobody can really give you input based on that information alone. And you're right...a bad photo that doesn't do a calf justice isn't very helpful, either. You need decent quality pictures of the calves that basically represent them pretty well, and I think then you'll get quite a bit of feedback. Maybe even more than you want or need! People like to weigh in on stuff like that here...get ready lol
thornapplegrovefarms
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2011
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Where are these calves located in michigan
