Udders develop mostly during the age of 2-12 months. After that they udder isn't developing. Before 2 months it isn't developing either. During this stage you have to be carefull of how much feed they get, too much growth etc. After 12 months you dont have to worry as it will go to growth. There was a study done, and they found when an animal gains 1.8lbs/day during that 2-12 month period they hit their maximum potential is a 2yr old, they also developed well. Any that gained up to 2.6lbs/day had a significant hit in production. For example at 1.8lbs the average was say 20.000lbs. With the higher weight gain they saw a 16-17,000lb production. This was because of getting a fatty udder, overdeveloping etc etc. If you underfed them, they gained 1.3-1.8 the drop wasn't significant at all. For example 18,5000-19,000. So only a 1000-1500lb drop, vs that 3-4,000.
So ya gotta be carefull with em' at a young age, stress, overfeeding, will hurt a heifer later on.
I firmly beleive the reason why some of the ones I have, did as well as they did as cows (or are still doing) is because of the way I fed them during that period. Genetics play a role, but even the best heifer in the world if fed improperly will not turn into the best cow.
Jeff
