229-LB Bull Calf Born in TN

[Ken Scharabok]

http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...WS01/703030345

Go to hell Texas!

[Karin L]

Holy cow, that's huge!!

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

I'll take 60-70 pounders thank you.

[tinknal]

Looks like they killed the cow getting him out. If 2 men can't pull a calf it's time for a c-section. What was that vet thinking?

[tallpines]

I hope they plan on making him a steer!

[JeffNY]

Depends, if his genetic worth is good, I wont be surprised they use him for breeding. He looks stocky, and over grown. If they have seen 175lbers, obviously they are overfeeding the cows during the critical time frame. The last 4 weeks, the calf develops a lot, and during that period they gain a decent amount. If they are graining them heavy, then it makes sence why it got so big. Now keep in mind, just because he is a big calf, doesn't mean he will throw big calves, if they use him for breeding. You can have a HUGE cow, and not get a big cow later on. Some BIG animals are freaks, and in his case might simply be due to overfeeding.


Jeff

[Ken Scharabok]

Jeff: That was my original thought also, the cows were being very well fed and it, combined with a freak occurance, lead to a HUGE calf.

I've also noticed a calf with what look like oversized knees often turn out to be large adults. Had one born yesterday to a cow with Brahman influence on an Angus bull. Call isn't larger than the others Angus-influenced ones popping out, but his legs are definitely different. This particular cow has always given me a VERY nice calf. She gets an udder which would make a Holstein proud, but, so far, tit size is still manageable for a newborn.

[Paula]

WOW - that calf is 10 times the size of most of our Dexter calves. Literally.

[Jennifer L.]

Glad I wasn't in on that calving!

I had a freak born last spring that was some kind of giant type--born dead. It had a huge head, double sized joints, etc. Didn't look normal at all and I'll bet it's weight was up there pretty good, but nothing like this one! Wow! Pretty amazing. Too bad the cow didn't make it.

Jennifer

[genebo]

You can't rule out genetics as the cause of this calf's huge birth size. Since there are many more bulls born each year than are needed for breeding, it seems senseless to use this one. He's a lot more likely to throw large calves than one that was born weighing 26 lbs. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Genebo
Paradise Farm
Church Road, VA

[agmantoo]

It is a large calf but I think their scales are out of calibration. Look at the pic with the farmer and the calf together. The farmer (if her were to bend way over) would be larger than the calf by a large margin. I doubt that the farmer weighs 200 lbs. If the farmer were to stand up straight he could IMO stradle the calf. The photographer that took the pic with the calf coming toward him intentionally did so to exaggerate the perception of the viewer. I do not believe that the cow could have ever delivered at the weight they state.