The decision of the weight of Angus calves at birth require specific decision from calf operation owners. If the weight of the Angus calves at birth is too low, the calves may not have the vigor to thrive. If the weight is too high, the birth process of the Angus calves may be dificult for the cows.
Should the cows and calves experience difficulty during birth, the exhausted animals may experience health issue. Using a weight chart for Angus calves will allow calf owners to ensure that the weight of the calves is within the range that will keep the calves strong and the cows from experiencing difficulty during birth. Following the birth of the Angus calves, calf owners must adjust the nutrition for the calves.
Why Use a Weight Chart for Angus Calves
During the first few weeks of an Angus calf’s life, the calf will rely on the milk from it’s mother. As the Angus calves grows, they will begin to eat grass through a creep feeder. Providing grass to young Angus calves will allow there digestive system to develop appropriately.
This will prevent the Angus calves from experiencing a growth slump when they are required to eat hay after being weaned from their mothers. Using a chart to monitor the weight of Angus calves will allow owners to ensure that the calves are gaining apropriate amount of weight. One method of managing the health of the Angus cow is through body condition scoring.
If the body condition of the cow is low, it will produce less milk for its calf. If the cow produce less milk, it will take longer for the cow to rebreed. If the body condition of the cow is too high, the cow may experience calving trouble.
If the cow experiences calving trouble, its fertility may be low during it’s next calving cycle. Using a body condition scoring system, calf owners can communicate with veterinarian and nutritionists to adjust the diet of the cow to ensure that its body condition score is appropriate. Commercial herds will score cows to have a more moderate body condition score.
This will allow owners to better predict the performance of their calves and the ability of the cow to remain in the herd. Each type of herd management operation utilize the growth data of the Angus calves in different ways. Registered breeders use the data to adjust the breeding plans of Angus cows to increase the weaning and yearling weights of the Angus calves, while maintaining low birth weight of the calves.
Commercial herds manage the weight of their Angus calves in reference to the pounds of calves weaned per cow exposed to the herd. This is a much simpler measurement of the growth of calves than the registered breeders use. Both methods are valid methods of managing the Angus herd.
However, registered breeders must keep more detailed records of the growth of their Angus calves then commercial producers do. Using a chart will allow registered breeders to compare the two methods of herd management. Calves may experience health issues such as scour, pneumonia, or pinkeye.
These illnesses will cause the Angus calves to lose weight. The weight of an Angus calf that lose weight due to illness may never be able to gain that weight back. There are costs associated with the illness of an Angus calf, including the cost of the medical treatment, but also the cost of the weight and feed required to make the calf gain the weight it lost due to illness.
Using charts to monitor the health of the Angus calves will allow owners to prevent illnesses through vaccinations and by ensuring that the calves are born in a clean environment. Using such a chart will also allow owners to monitor the periods during which the calves are most vulnerable to illness. Using a chart to weight the Angus calves at regular intervals will allow owners to stop guessing at the weight of the calves.
It will allow owners to recognize if some calves are gaining less weight than others, which may indicate an issue with the quality of the pasture, the water availability for the calves, or the parasite load of the herd. Owners can also use this information to discover which cows produce calves with better growth rates then other cows in the herd. This information will allow owners to decide which heifers to keep in the herd and which cows to cull from the herd.
Observing the weight of the Angus calves over time will allow herd owners to adjust the breeding plans for the herd to ensure that the herd possesses only the type of Angus calves that match the characteristic of the herds land and market. A weight chart for Angus calves will only be useful if the owners look at the chart while the calves are present. Using a scale will allow owners to appropriately weigh the calves.
Relying on memory to remember the weight of the calves will not be as accurate as using a scale. Based off the weight of the calves, owners can adjust the diet or breeding plans for the herd. Following these milestone will allow owners to recognize if the growth of the Angus calves is working or if it needs to be adjusted.
They should of used a chart earlier.