When can a calf be called a heifer?

emke · #1 07/14/05, 09:24 PM

I guess the subject says it all. Our one calf is getting huge, Not sure of her age, I will have to ask the guy we got her from. He keeps paperwork on all of his cows and can tell me to the exact day she was born.

tyusclan · #2 07/14/05, 09:28 PM

A female calf is a heifer from birth until bred. She then becomes a first-calf heifer, and after calving is called a cow.

Ronney · #3 07/15/05, 06:11 AM

Ty has given the answer as to what a heifer is - but that can get very confusing because a 4 year old cow that has never had a calf will still be referred to as a heifer.

Of more importance is that you are still referring to this animal as a calf as well as indicating that she could be in calf? If that is the case, please find out how old she is because if she is too young and too small you could well run the risk of losing both the cow and the calf.

Cheers,
Ronnie

tyusclan · #4 07/15/05, 04:04 PM

You're right, Ronney. I was assuming a normal breeding age of 15-18 months. A cow over 4 that has never calved would be a cow.

Haggis · #5 07/15/05, 05:45 PM

Grandpa called them a heifer up to the third calf when they were four-year-olds. With their 4th calf they would be a cow. I think he based this on cattle not reaching full maturity until they are at least 4 or 5 years old.

He would them a first calf heifer, second calf heifer, third calf heifer, and finally a cow.

SmokedCow · #6 07/15/05, 05:48 PM

a first-time heifer is called a heiferette...BUT...reg. papers will always say COW....what if the cow never had a calf...would it be called...a Broken Mouth heifer? I think it is age yes....but when shes mature, shes a cow.
AJ

emke · #7 07/15/05, 11:33 PM

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I will call her a heifer then. She won't be bred to the bull until she is old enough. We are using a bull from the guy we got her from and he knows all about this. He said it will be awhile yet. I was just wondering because we had a friend come see then for the first time. I had been calling Dora a calf and she said that she was expecting a small calf, like the other one we have. Since Dora's back is almost to my collar bones I guess she wouldn't be considered a calf anymore.

SmokedCow · #8 07/16/05, 02:45 AM

congrats! wow...shes gotta be a yearling if shes that tall...Or are you just the short

haha well...Good luck with everything and keep us posted on her! My dogs name is Dorie...Dora and Dorie! excelenta!
AJ

Ronney · #9 07/16/05, 05:39 AM

Whew Emke, when you said your calf was getting huge I thought you meant in the pregnant sense. Glad that isn't the case

And yes, it's easy to continue to call them calves when in fact they are rising yearlings. I've got 6 x 10 month old mixed sex animals that I'm still calling calves despite the fact that I'm rearing the next batch of calves!

Haggis, I've heard that too and I guess it comes down to what a person's perception of a heifer is - some look at them as being an unbred animal, others look at them in terms of age. I had one chap tell me he had sold a 4 year old heifer cow. What he was actually telling me was that he had sold a cow that had never calved. I personally refer to all my unbred cows as heifers, once they have calved they become cows in my mind and have the appendage or R3,4 or whatever age added.

Cheers,
Ronnie

emke · #10 07/16/05, 06:34 AM

Well, I am sort of short... 5'3". It just shocked me how big she has gotten. She still acts like a big baby and is horribly spoiled. She follows us around like a puppy dog, when we are in the pasture.

Ronney · #11 07/16/05, 06:56 AM

Never mind Emke, I just make the 5ft mark and can just see across the top of my bull. Kevin tells me he can see about 2" of me if I'm on the opposite side - but I'm sure he's pulling my leg

Cheers,
Ronnie

willow_girl · #12 07/16/05, 05:49 PM

Interesting thread ... where I work they're calves until they go from the calving pen to the heifer barn.

Up until calving, they're simply heifers ... after calving, we refer to them as first-calf heifers. Around the time they deliver calf #2, they officially become cows!

There is a big difference in maturity ... a heifer who has calved for the first time (at the usual age) still acts like a kid ... about like a teenager! By the time the second calf comes along, they are fully mature.

JMO!