Rating your cattle.

[oldtimer]

Edit: Could someone please size the last pic so it doesn’t run off the screen?
Thanks

Rating your cattle.

One of the most valuable tools in a cattleperson’s bag of tricks is his/her ability to HONESTLY rate his own cattle.
I use the 1 - 10 scale.
0 being dead and 10 being a show animal.

There is an old saying that goes like this: “ You can’t pick the rotten apples out of the barrel, if you don’t know what the good apples look like”.
So the first thing you need to do is get a reasonable picture in your mind of what a dead animal and a show animal looks like. I assume we all now what a dead animal looks like so I suggest you search pics of show animals and study them. Forget about all the stats that comes with them as we are only taking about physical condition.
Now here are two pics of my cows:
How do you rate each? Now be honest, I can take it!
OT


Cow1.



Cow 2.

[Bret]

No rotten apples here.

No. 1 I would place in a six to seven BCS on a scale of 1 to 9. The tail appears to recessed suggesting fat there. The hair may be hiding a little. Looking at one angle makes it tough doesn't it.

No. 2 I can eliminate a score of 4 because she is not showing any ribs. She also presents much better than a 4 at a glace.

On the higher end of the scale, she is not showing significant fat in the area of the tail head and back so I can eliminate a score of 7. I feel safe putting her in the middle of the5 to 6 zone.

[ErinP]

I guess I judge animals by the body condition score, too. "Show" is pretty open-ended. You can have show cattle that are too fat, as well as too skinny.
Ideally, an animal should be in the 5-7 range on the BCS, with cows in the 6 or 7s when going into winter.

[rancher1913]

actually bcs is 1--9 with 1 being emaciated and 9 being obese with 4 to 6 being the normal range. this time of year we strive for a 6 or even a seven going into winter and a 5 or six come spring. hard to get a exact figure with a single photo, need all the angles but i'd guess a solid 5. that second photo shocked me--I've got one that looks just like her, even the same facial expression.

[MO_cows]

I don't think OT was looking for a BCS, he was looking for a quality ranking. I wonder about the "show" being the top of the scale since so many times the ones who win the bovine beaty contests are not so good in real world production scenarios.

Both of the cows look like they are in good condition and have some capacity to them. But the photo's don't show the udders well enough and that would be a big part of my "score".

The most important scorecard, how do they perform? Calving every year and raising a good calf? Then they are 10's.

[lonelyfarmgirl]

from a show perspective, I know nothing about showing cows. I've shown alot of dogs and alot of rabbits, but we have cows a plenty here. anyway. cow #1 is obviously way younger, but assuming she was a little more grown, even though she has a smaller frame, and wont be quite as long, I think she will have the potential to carry more meat overall. cow #2 seems weak in the front ankles, for all she's slicked up nice. she also doesn't appear to carry as much meat down the back strap, although she has the better top line. she has a little bitty head compared to cow #1, which tells me, she's bred to get real big real fast, kind of like a guy on steroids, who as a result has a little bitty... (excuse me, blushing) Cow #1 seems that she will grow a little bit slower, but pack on the pounds as she goes. Her general lay on muscle looks bulkier, and overall better formed, of course it could just be the way she is standing. Cow #2 is in perfect pose.

Your angus would take the cake in the ring, but I think the black white face would be the better animal in the long run.

also consider I could be so far wrong in my assessment. feel free to ignore everything I just said.

I also know nothing about BCS.

[oldtimer]

Bet,
You nailed it! That is exactly where I had them.
I am amassed that you all did so well.

When I took these pics 2 years ago cow/heifer one was one of 12 that I held back from sale for replacement heifers. She was about 900 lbs.
She had been on nothing but pasture since weaning at around 600 lbs.

She was still on pasture, and I had just added free choice hay and 2 lbs daily per head of 12% protein feed to prep them for breading in about 90 days.
My intent was to bring her up to an 8 for breeding and the fact it was now early fall and winter was just around the corner.

In a perfect world I would and could keep all my cattle at a 5, but there is no such thing as a perfect world.
As I cant change the whether or economic or market conditions to me supplemental feeding is the only way to compensate for an imperfect world, even if the only supplement is hay. To me feed is not a necessity, it is a way to fine tune your cattle for what is about to come.

Cow 2. Is one of my middle age cows ( 6- 7 YO ) She is starting to show her age and has a few sags. (don‘t go there!!)
.
I took these pics in early fall ( early Sept I think ) the same year as cow1 while I was rating the herd in prep for winter.
I rated her at a 6.
That day I rated my herd at 6 and decided to supplement with hay only to bring them up to an 8 for the start of winter as the pasture was starting to give out and my head per acre was high.

Re:

Looking at one angle makes it tough doesn't it.

Yes, but when they are in the ring that is all you may get also. Not to mention you may only have about 6 seconds to soak it all in.

Nice job all and thanks.
OT

[oldtimer]

Re:
BCS ( body condition score )
BCS is most often related to just body “fat” only, that is why I tend to steer away from it.
To me there are far more important thing then body fat so I like to think overall animal condition.
Some of those things are coat appearance, alertness, temperament, lameness, parasite infestation (both internal and external and injuries, all of which should be considered when rating cattle.

MO,
Re:

The most important scorecard, how do they perform? Calving every year and raising a good calf? Then they are 10's.

In a perfect world I would agree with you, but in this world the cost of maintaining a herd of perfect 10s, even if they did everything you expected of them, would put you in the poorhouse.
Economically it is not possible.

Lonelyfarngirl.
Don’t sell yourself short, you made some excellent observations.
Next one try putting a number to it! There are no wrong answers here ya know!

Thanks again all.
OT

[ErinP]

Next one try putting a number to it! There are no wrong answers here ya know!

In reading the rest of your responses: Do you think you're teaching a lesson?
You do realize there are some very experienced cattle producers here, right??

[oldtimer]

ErinP.
Re:

In reading the rest of your responses: Do you think you're teaching a lesson?

No , not at all. All I am doing is passing on what I have learned from over 100 years of experience that has been pasted down to me, plus my 65 years of experience.
What I state is nothing more then my opinion from that experience and how I personally apply that experience. If someone learns from it, then I guess you could call me a teacher.

Re:

You do realize there are some very experienced cattle producers here, right??

Yes I do and that is one of the very reason I am here. I am hoping they can teach me by sharing their life experiences and knowledge with me so I can also learn as I by no means know it all, nor have I ever claimed to.

Do you realize there are people on here who have little or no experience with cattle yet own them and would more then welcome be taught? Many even pay good hard earned money for what I give away for free.

My opinions are mine and mine only and you have every right to agree or disagree with them. All I ask is, if you disagree with me, attack the message, not the messenger.
And if we go toe to toe for days or weeks, when it is all over, I will still call you my friend and buy you a beer, regardless who was right or wrong.

Now I hope that clears that up.

OT

[francismilker]

While I like to see a good looking, well fattened herd of mama cows; I'm more impressed with selling a good looking herd of calves off those cows. I personally don't care if the cows look like a bag of bones as long as they raise a good calf. Whether on-lookers like what they see when they drive by or not matters not to me. Just the per pound price of the steer calves I sell.

I do take good care of my animals and they don't go neglected. They get vaccinated, access to minerals, feed, hay, and water. However, I don't sell a poor looking cow if she raises a good looking calf every year.

[Skip]

I am very much enjoying these threads. I had never touched a cow before getting my two heifers. I read everything I can get a hold of and dream. I figured I should put my dreams into action. I believe the 4-H moto is learn by doing. I'm hoping though older I can still learn. Even though I am unlikely to meet posters, I find myself thinking So and So would do this here. Years back I saw pictures posted by Agman of land he had cleared, and I have been assessing our property with the picture in mind. We are a very large and diversified community here online. And I am very grateful for this.

[lamoncha lover]

I read all this cow stuff and soak it up. The only experience I have with cows is what I saw 45 years ago with my grandpa's small dairy. Mostly cute calves and that cool cow smell. If grandpa was alive or even my mom I could probably learn something from them. But they are not and I appreciate any bit of shared knowledge from any of our experienced cow people. I haven't a cow YET,,,,gonna learn a lil bit first:>)
teach away..PLEASE teach away:>)

[Skip]

I debated wether mentioning that I grew up next door to a holstein dairy farm, but didn't because I have no memory of ever touching one of the cows. I stood in the barn when milking was being done many times. At first it was into canisters then they upgraded to a pipeline. The bull had his own pen and I was warned to be careful. Looking down at him he was enourmous. I can remember also politely eating cereal with goat's milk and hating the flavour of the milk. And my brother being chased by a billy goat. My daughter rides a quarter horse yet is terrified of sheep. I'll never forget seeing her with her little poodle and a girlfriend coming running screaming out of a farmer's field with three or four curious lambs on their heels. I'm getting off topic here, but when I read about these smaller cows that are hardier than regular dairy cows I wanted one. I think I prefer the cows to horses now. I find they aren't as smelly as the horses, though I'm still searching the market for a nice 12H pony.