Anyone good at judging young calves?

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red

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I have a heifer out of Hard Core & my IceMan x Foreplay cow. I think she is one of the nicest calves we've had. I am not though a good judge when they are young. She is about 2 months old. I imagine she will darken up as she ages. Any opinions? Don't fear of offending me if she isn't that good.

Thanks for the help!

Red
 

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Show Dad

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Red, wow what a fuzz ball! As far as what I think, let's see, two ears, four legs, two eye, one head and one tail, looks great to me! ;) ;)

Really I think she's a keeper or high seller. Especially with two ears. Top notch!
 

chambero

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It is so hard to judge young calves.  But, I think she looks like a very nice heifer for her age.  Certainly what I'd consider a good (functional calf that looks like a keeper for a replacement) calf for 60 days old.  I don't know that you can tell any more than that at such an age.  They just change so much as they grow.  Looks like all the feet point in the right direction and she looks like she is "proud" of herself.

Our Sep and Oct calves are still fooling me.  I grabbed two steers out of a pasture Sunday.  One is definitely one of our top handful of calves.  The other I didn't think was too far behind.  Got them to town and thrown in with some others I weaned a month ago.  I didn't think the second calf looked as good in that group.  My wife shows up that afternoon and asks "What in the world are you doing with that thing in town? Nobody is gonna buy it."  Woops.  Loaded it back up and took it back to momma.  He got voted off the island.

I weaned several calves out of another pasture a month ago.  I definitely missed one that I have to get back up now.


What's the red calf behind her.
 

red

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the red calf is a steer out of Triple X & Foreplay. He is about 8 weeks old. He is going to be a dandy steer!
 

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chambero

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Get him to Texas for our state fair which is a slick shear show.  Red calves look better than black without hair.
 

SKF

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They both look like really nice calves!!!
 

renegade

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I think both of those calves look pretty awesome. I think that black one is gonna be bigger than the red but i would love to have the red one too.
You know chambero i have noticed with my red steer that he looks great with his hair just going wild and he still looks good when its blown and all going one direction but i like it better when its just doing its thing  ::) ???.
 

dori36

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red said:
I have a heifer out of Hard Core & my IceMan x Foreplay cow. I think she is one of the nicest calves we've had. I am not though a good judge when they are young. She is about 2 months old. I imagine she will darken up as she ages. Any opinions? Don't fear of offending me if she isn't that good.

Thanks for the help!

Red

Here's what I learned from better cattlepeople than I am in Wyoming:  Even from day one, calves that are destined to carry good muscle behind will stand wide behind from the day they're born. She looks like she is standing nice and wide.  Those that stand narrow will probably always be lacking in muscle, especially the kind that carries down well.  You can also tell from the start if they're straight and thick topped.  Look down on her back and you'll already be able to see some width across the loin  and length of top.  I can see what appears to be excellent thickness on top. Look at her from the side - she already shows length there, too.  I like how her tailhead "pops up" from her top, too.  You won't have any need to "invent" her good placement using her considerable hair!  And, of course, her feet seem to be going in, generally, the right directions at appropriate for her age.  I can't see enough of her from the side to have an opinion on her length of neck or angle of shoulder.  Looks real nice from what I 'can' see.  Here's a picture of a heifer I had born here a couple of years ago.  She's a Lowline but reminds me of your heifer in a smaller package.  She ended up as Grand Ch. Fullblood Female at the NILE (that's Billings).  Hope yours goes on a similar path!!  Nice baby!
 

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red

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Dori- love her! Thanks for the picture & the comments.

My heifer is not quite as thick in the neck & shoulders as she looks in the photo. Some heifers just have that show attitude right from the start. They seem to be posing in the barn. She is just like that. She is also a 1/2 sister to my red heifer from last year.

Red

 

NHR

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I like her. She reminds me of our Red Heifer to the left when I first saw her when she was 2 months old. She turned out pretty good. I just bought another heifer built the same way and she is 2 months old. Some heifers just have "IT" from the beginning.
 

ZNT

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She's a cool heifer.  I always say that you can certainly tell early on the ones that have the potential.  They may not turn out, but I think in a lot of cases, they do.  She definitely has the mass, the hair, and the self-confidence.  Congrats!!!  (thumbsup)

PS:  The steer looks like he's doing well!!  ;)

ZNT
 

dori36

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red said:
Dori- love her! Thanks for the picture & the comments.

My heifer is not quite as thick in the neck & shoulders as she looks in the photo. Some heifers just have that show attitude right from the start. They seem to be posing in the barn. She is just like that. She is also a 1/2 sister to my red heifer from last year.

Red

If you can get a picture from a side profile, I'd love to see it.  When we talk about "extension", it requires a laid back shoulder which gives them a nice long neck placed right.  And, yes, that good "look-at-me" attitude never hurts!
 

Jill

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Nice hiefer, I'm not too bad at picking steers at that age, the good ones come to the top pretty fast, heifers not so much.
 

TJ

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Would like to see more pics, but she looks pretty nice. 
 

bcosu

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i agree, the calves look real good and thick for their age. from what i've seen, that seems to be a sign for later life.
 
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