Lecture 6 Judging breeding cattle Flashcards
What is practicality and function of cattle in feedlot?
Foot and joint quality
* Fleshing/feeding ability
* Outputs
* Things that keep you in business
What makes feedlot cattle productive?
Bring productive, what are imputes that we are feeding them is low and our output it high
In a feedlot what is productive from a cow-calf vs feedlot?
Must calve before 2 years old and rebreed each year
Why do cows not last?
Cost of input is sky-high and feed cost is going to drive alot of producers decisions and feed availability, alot of culling numbers are at an all time high because they can afford to feed them
What drives profitability in cow/calf operations?
-Efficient production, the cow that weans a big calf, little cow=less inputs, weaning big calf=high %mature calf weight= efficient
-Reproductive success, pregnancy rate what % of cows and also calving interval. if your calving interval=long it means timing screwed up its hard to get them back on tract.
-If cows have twins it pulls there lactational pull and its hard for them to get back into rebreeding.
-Longevity, we need long lasting cows, it takes 2 years to get them to where we need them to be, they don’t last due to bad feet and legs and reproductive failure.
Whats important in show livestock
inputs vs outputs
What traits are similar in market vs breeding industry?
appropriate structure
body,
muscle
What traits are different in market vs breeding industry?
Function vs productivity
Muscle comes from sire selection
Functionality definition:
Designed to have practical use
What traits are crucial to be labelled functional?
-Structural correctness/ foot quality
-Soft maternal body type
-Udder quality
What’s the number 1 priority in breeding cattle?
Evaluating structure(same evaluation as market cattle)
Why is structure so important?
-Grazing animals
-Can be miles of travelling to resourced
-not like Iowa
What is good evaluation structure?
- Hoof Shape
- Shoulder
- Hock
- Hip
- Spine
What is the biggest breed?
Angus
What are 9’s in hoof shape?
Pronounced curling of toes
What is the most important trait in cattle?
Foot quality is the upmost important in cattle, we want good clean footed appropriate structured cattle
A structurally sound heifer:
neck ties out appropriately to the top of her shoulder
top of her shoulder comes back and she has bend and slope up front
Long hipped good in how her hoped comes down , set appropriately
Breed classses for cows, sheep , hogs
should be in motion or loose in a pin
Market sheep market cattle market hogs
Sheep-standing
Cattle and hogs- loose
What can you see when cattle are set into motion?
You can see everything when they are in
motion
* Structure
* Body shape
* Muscle
* Balance
What other traights are crucial to cowherd longevity
easy fleshing ability= key - correlated to reproductive success
* Soft bodied, maternally focused females are
likely to cycle back sooner post calving
* Remember…
* Calving interval is critical
* Only one calf per year
What is very important?
Udder quality- upmost important. It is genetic its a management challenge,
-Udder suspension
-Teat size important uniformed even high and tight udder that’s well suspended
For judging purposes we will judge mainly heifers whats important to know about heifers?
Udder not fully development
What do you look for in terms of udders?
- Development due to gestation
- Teat spacing and refinement
Femininity have many different definitions what are we looking fir in terms of femininity?
Head and neck shape , top of the neck
Feminine features , but still cow character
What should neck shape be like in terms of femininity?
Neck shape is smooth and feminine, not bulky and masculine/crusty
Shoulder laid in neatly, long smooth muscle pattern, they can be plain fronted and feminine
Feminine heifer
bulky and blocky in her neck, crusty in her neck, shoulder is blocky
What can growth/performance/WDA correlated to?
Frame, compared to weight , dependent upon your production system
What is much more important in bulls than heifers?
Muscle because their role is to supple power
Is power important for breeding females?
Yes its still important-pin width (calving ease)
Body volume vs Muscle Shape
