judging females hefiers and cows

Help Support Steer Planet:

WBar Farms

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 27, 2008
Messages
321
ok so over the past years i've stayed mostly in steers so whe n i look at a hefier or a cow i want to try to comapre them to how a steer should look and i've picked up some bad habits.  So i have a few questions i need aswered
1. whats the most imporant trait to look for? please give an example
2. Whats the biggest thing to stay away from when looking at a hefier.
3.Whats the things that make up a good cow and what are the most important?
4.  Can you just email me al the stuff i need to know i would really appreciate it cause im lost
Thanks
Wbar
 

doubled

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 8, 2007
Messages
1,004
Location
Iowa
WBar Farms said:
ok so over the past years i've stayed mostly in steers so whe n i look at a hefier or a cow i want to try to comapre them to how a steer should look and i've picked up some bad habits.  So i have a few questions i need aswered
1. whats the most imporant trait to look for? please give an example
2. Whats the biggest thing to stay away from when looking at a hefier.
3.Whats the things that make up a good cow and what are the most important?
4.  Can you just email me al the stuff i need to know i would really appreciate it cause im lost
Thanks
Wbar
1.  Im not expert but the first thing we look for is soundness, shes gotta get around well, cant be too straight you can easily breed that into them
we also like a tight udder, they always get bigger
2.  Bad feet, long toes
3. Big feet, good udder, sound, easy keeper
 

Cowboy Up

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 7, 2008
Messages
124
Location
Nebraska
It kind of depends who you talk to, I think. Some people like the short, stocky, just overall powerful heifers. I myself like them to be feminine, but still have some power to them. For Example, I like them deep, but I wouldn't buy a breeding heifer who is so short and stocky her belly is almost on the ground. That would be my piece of advice, but it really depends on who is picking out the heifers, and what your goal is with them. I think the short stocky heifers are market heifers, but for breeding, I like the Feminine, "Classy" heifers.

CU
 

jimmyski

Well-known member
Joined
May 2, 2007
Messages
99
Location
Colby, KS
I'll weigh in here a little bit:

1. I think first and foremost, like WBar said, Structural Correctness is the most important trait in a breeding female, although Volume or Ribshape is also very important.

2. Biggest thing to stay away from: That's difficult to say, I guess going along with the first question is poor structured cattle. I also think that heifers that are too "Masculine" in their muscle shape can be a problem.

3. Things that make up a good cow: 1.Good Feet and Legs 2.Lots of Volume and Ribshape 3. Adequate dimension of Muscle (Still Feminine) 4. Good Teat Size and Udder Quality 5. Attractiveness (Balance if you will) - How good do they look

If you have any further questions don't be afraid to ask, the majority of the people on this board love to help people and will gladly answer your questions.
 

Cattledog

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 27, 2008
Messages
1,116
I would say that the posts have been very good.  I agree that structural soundness is a necessity as you want a long productive life out of your investment.  The next two qualities that are high on my list are femininity and rib shape.  I raise angus cattle so I am usually a little more relaxed on the amount of volume due to the fact that there are a hundred puss gutted bulls in the breed. 

The thing I always watch out for is bad udders.  It doesn't take long to get sick of milking a cow because her teats are too big and the calf can't get its mouth around them.  Structural soundness is big one as well.

I think everyone here kind of hit the nail on the head when they said what they think makes up a good cow.  Oh, let me add one thing - Disposition!
 
Top