Question..looking for pics

Pallyshire · #1 07/06/13, 07:57 PM

Does anyone have pictures of what a 3-5 month old calf's udders are suppose to look like? I've been reading a lot about how free martins have pencil eraser teats but I can't find any pictures. Are they hard like the erasers? Just the size? What does the normal teat development look like? I know they don't bag up until after they are pregnant. I was just wanting to know how the teats themselves looked like before they are bred.

Jersey/guernsey · #2 07/06/13, 09:17 PM

I’ve never heard about checking the udder for freemartins but will try to get a picture for you tomorrow

When I have twins or am buying heifer calves I look at the vulva a very wise man (he was a cattle dealer for sixty years) told me that you can tell a freemartin by the vulva. It will be more elongated then a normal heifer and have a lot more hair. In the six sets of bull heifer twins we’ve had I would have to say that it has worked.

Pallyshire · #3 07/06/13, 11:08 PM

Well I bought them from a lady that go them from a feedlot. I was told if they received the hormone before birth than they could be sterile and their teats would resemble a freemartin's teats. My farrier says there is a slim chance they will still be breedable if they were born as soon as they arrived or if they were aborted later in the pregnancy before they administered the hormone. She said if they are sterile they won't have the growth in the teats so I have been trying to keep track of it. However there are really no pictures of a normal udder before breedable age. Honestly I'm confused about the whole process and I am hoping the slim chance is a good thing and I won't have to use these girls for beef instead of milk cows.

G. Seddon · #4 07/07/13, 06:45 AM

I think you might want to do a little more research or get your vet out to make a determination. Looking at a heifer's teats isn't going to be of much help.

http://www.canadiancattlemen.ca/veta...eemartins.aspx

http://www.geneticvisions.com/freemartin.aspx

Jersey/guernsey · #5 07/07/13, 12:56 PM

About twenty percent of heifer calves born twin to a bull will be breedable with the rest being sterile. Out of six sets of heifer/bull twins we’ve had, only one was breedable.
You can buy a plastic probe to check for a freemartin http://www.enasco.com/c/farmandranch/Artificial%20Insemination/Cattle%20Breeding/Freemartin%20Probe/ or wait and see if she starts to cycle.
here are some pics they are six months old and a little fat

And some from the front so they don’t feel bad! Hope this helps

Pallyshire · #6 07/07/13, 01:19 PM

Thanks Jersey/Guernsey. They seem really developed. Do you know when their growth started. Mine are both three months. the top pic is of my brahma/angus cross and the bottom pic is my jersey /angus cross.

Unfortunately I am new to this, these are my first heifer calves, and I can only go by what I read or people tell me. I've had a lot tell me they have a 10% chance of being breedable if they are from a feedlot or a freemartin. Then others say they have had heifers that turned out just time. When the farrier said you can tell by the teats I thought it would give me some promise. Either way I will keep them and sell them for beef if they can't breed. I'm just hoping I am spending all this time and money on my new momma cows

Pallyshire · #7 07/07/13, 01:23 PM

Thanks G. Seddon those sites are very informative.

Jersey/guernsey · #8 07/07/13, 04:51 PM

They started to get a bit of an udder at about four/five months but like I said they are kinda fat. I call what they have (fat udders) and well fed heifers (that is too say way too much for dinner) mine at least seem to get them somewhere around four/eight months. But I have never raised a beef cross so don’t really know what would be normal for them.
That said not all heifers from a feed lot will be sterile, a lot of dairy’s breed frist calf heifers to a calving ease beef bull since they don’t want to keep the calves anyway and they get more for them at auction. Now how bout a picture of the front

I’ve always wanted a brahman cross but I don’t see many around here

Pallyshire · #9 07/07/13, 05:37 PM

This is the Brahman Angus cross. She may have something else in her but I wasn't worried about pure bred!

We call her Jowlie because she has a little bit of an under bite. I think it's cute.She is standing next to a steer which is only 3 weeks older than her. She is the larger of the two females. She is actually really hard to get a pic of because she follows you around everywhere.

Pallyshire · #10 07/07/13, 05:41 PM

The smaller female we believe is a Jersey cross. The lady told us Angus/Jersey but I don't really see the Angus. She is always skinny up top and round in the lower end no matter how much we feed her. And she has been wormed. Her name is Riblet because she is so small and she is a difficult to get pics of as well because she likes facing the other direction.

Pallyshire · #11 07/07/13, 06:25 PM

Jersey/Guernsey what breed does Riblet look like to you? I don't have a lot of experience with Jerseys. Or Brahmans for that matter..

Jersey/guernsey · #12 07/07/13, 09:47 PM

OH, my just look at those ears

So right the under bite is cute! I bet Jowlie makes a nice milk cow when all grown up.
Riblet... Jersey/Holstein? I think you’re right, she doesn’t look Angus. Or maybe
Jersey /Ayrshire? Most likely Jersey/Holstein, they make really good cows

Pallyshire · #13 07/07/13, 10:25 PM

I love Jowlie's ears. When she was a week old she was a little misfit.

For Riblet I can definitely see Holstein before I see Angus. The Ayrshire looks close to a Jersey. These girls are so sweet, learn quick, and have great manners with very little correction. I really hope the chances are on my side with them. It would be a shame to send them for beef. I'm trying to find a vet to check them. Not sure what age they have to be before you can check their female organs.

I like the weight on your girls. Of course I am still learning where the ideal weight is so I don't see them as fat. They look good to me. They are Guernsey? I love their markings. The Guernsey's looks so close to the Jersey to me.

Sometimes I can't tell them apart. Thanks so much for the pictures and info. Crossing my fingers for fertile heifers!

Jersey/guernsey · #14 07/08/13, 08:10 AM

You’re welcome

Pumpkin is the one on the left, and is a Jersey/Guernsey cross.
Elf is on the right and is also a cross, Jersey/Guernsey but favors the jersey side.
I think your heifers beautiful and will cross my fingers for a good outcome!

Pallyshire · #15 07/09/13, 01:56 AM

They are pretty. Love the markings.

Thanks again.