# Choosing 4 calves - New Photo's



## MasAhora (Mar 28, 2017)

We want to buy 2 brangus and 2 nelore hiefers approx. 7 months old.
We've met with the farmer and agreed the price. He has quite a few for us to choose from.
I noticed a few that were similar size but bulkier and calmer than the others. Which I liked.
What else should I look for in a 7 month old?

We want them to raise calves, sell to our local butcher and keep part of the meat for us. If we wanted to can maintain 10 on our pasture (mild winters here), so we have a little flexibility with butchering age/selection once the girls are ready to meet our friends bulls.


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## MasAhora (Mar 28, 2017)

Just to add, I wasn't very good at comparing the moving calves to the body conformation charts I have -they would stop moving!! Should I assume it will obvious at around 6-7 months old how good their body conformation will be?


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## Latestarter (Mar 28, 2017)

Probably the best way to determine what the kids (calves) will look like all grown up is to see what the parents look like. If you have a good relationship with the farmer you're buying from, and from the way you described it, it appears you do, why not ask for his assistance in picking them out and ask for his explanation as to why he's choosing each one? Good luck and I hope you'll share some pics when you get them.


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## MasAhora (Mar 29, 2017)

Well the farmer has selected specific bulls for his breeding, so we assume he has chosen wisely (we saw the bull but it was surrounded by the herd). He seems a decent guy, the farmer. We just want to make sure we'll choose cows that will calve easily and their calves gain weight nicely with few health issues. It'll be a lot easy for us if we get 4 good starter cows, so we'll chat to the farmer again, hopefully he'll be straight with us.


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## cjc (Mar 30, 2017)

I know absolutely nothing about the breeds you are looking at but being a small cattle raiser myself temperament is not everything but its definitely the bulk of it. Especially when it comes to breeding. I always go for the cows/calves that are not head shy. I would never buy a wild one again that's for sure. Even with a proper handling system they can be a nightmare. You want a heifer that is going to allow you to intervene during calving if she needs it.


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## MasAhora (Mar 30, 2017)

Well for better or worse these are the 4 girls we ended up with - brangus-nelore mixes ....we figured with 4 it is a basic start that can be corrected/adjusted with experience and wiser future buys. 
There is my friends 12 month old bull in the photos, but he is designated for a wedding feast in a few months, so ignore him. The 5th one on the last photo is my Moms future pet....sigh. 

What information can your expert eyes give me? Nothing stated will offend me, I want to learn.


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## MasAhora (Mar 30, 2017)

OK why can't I post photos?

This site is not very friendly for users.

ETA...OK slowly figuring it out


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## Baymule (Mar 30, 2017)

Brangus I am familiar with, Nelore I have never heard of, would love to see pictures! I think you have to make 10 posts before you can post pictures, it's to keep undesirable things out.

Where are you located?


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## Baymule (Mar 30, 2017)

http://www.thecattlesite.com/breeds/beef/75/nelore/

Very pretty cattle. The Brahman cattle are popular in the southern United States because of their heat resistance. Brangus are a breed made up of a Brahman and Black Angus cross.


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## MasAhora (Mar 31, 2017)

I am in Paraguay in a very green tropical part of the country. Our hot summers and mild winters make Nelore one of the best choices. In a few months we might buy a pure Brahman or two, the farmer says he has a couple of calves that come from extra calm mothers.


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## Baymule (Mar 31, 2017)

Here in Texas we also have hot summers and mild winters, although once in awhile we get below freezing, it never stays there very long.

I love the long floppy ears on Brahman calves, they are so cute! There is a big Brahman bull in the pasture across from us right now. He is a fine looking bull.


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## MasAhora (Mar 31, 2017)

OK here are the photos, the 4 girls are still flighty and calling for home.





With the young bull who's on the right.


   This little one one will be my mother's pet. Its mother died so its bottled raised and will arrive in a month or two, the photos is from the farm we bought them from so the others on the left aren't mine.




Any thoughts on the 5 hiefers from my bad photos?


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## MasAhora (Mar 31, 2017)




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## animalmom (Mar 31, 2017)

Sweet looking faces!  I am sorry I can't help with any suggestions, but the girls look good to me.  I do hope you keep us up to date on your adventures with your new herd.


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## Baymule (Mar 31, 2017)

Lovely girls! Let me call some of our cattle experts here.
@farmerjan 
@greybeard 
@WildRoseBeef


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## Latestarter (Mar 31, 2017)

They look great to me! I need to get a couple (of calves) for my place but just can't get off the fence about what breed and how old I want to start.


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## farmerjan (Mar 31, 2017)

Hi and welcome.  I had to look up the Nellores breed also as it is not a common one here.  And on top of that I am in Virginia and we do not have alot of cattle with much Brahma blood in it in this area.  They do not sell well here and it has nothing to do with the breed so much as just what the markets dictate.  Any member on here from the south will be more familiar with them.  I do know that they are heat tolerant, and also fly and tick resistant and in part it is due to the loose skin.  I really like the looks of the cross; and this farmer seems to have picked out some nicely balanced females.  I look for a nice straight "topline"  meaning no saggy backbone but a straight back.  Also, you want to watch how they walk.  A cow is only as good as the "foundation" under it.  Legs that are set well, like 4 equal posts under her body...not set too close together.  A nice chest and rump. And walking like it is comfortable for them; not like their legs are too straight or too angled. They all look pretty good and seem to have pretty good growth for 7 months or so.  DISPOSITION is important. I don't know the nellore's, but brahma cattle have a reputation of being somewhat less quiet, and the momma's can get very aggressive when they have new calves.  It is good when there are predators, but not so good when you have to work with them.  Again, take the advice of this farmer that is helping you if you like his cattle.  After you get a little experience under your belt, then you might want to do some things a little different.  But,  they look to be fairly calm to be able to be that close for the pictures.  The bottle calf will be a plus for you as it will not be afraid of people so will hopefully get the others to be more accepting of people being around.
I like the way they look.


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## MasAhora (Apr 1, 2017)

Thanks for the replies. The farmer was confident that they'd handle breeding/calving smoothly and told us to stick with this mix as they'd be easier for us to handle. Legs were important to us to, a former neighbour had a cow with poor legs and a huge bull broke her leg when mounting -we don't want that! So we tried to observe them as best we could. The farmer was not 100% on age so I am guessing the white brindle is a bit older.

The 4 are quieter and calmer today, they watched with interest the young bull taking a tree branch treat from me cut from this tree.

 it is an absolute favourite treat that even the donkey's come running for when we chat to them most evenings, so we'll tame the girls soon enough once they discover its taste.


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## Baymule (Apr 3, 2017)

Haha, I just walked through a pasture pulling down elm branches for my sheep.


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## WildRoseBeef (Apr 8, 2017)

Since these are heifers, regardless of breed the first thing I look at is depth of the ribs and the hindquarters. The one heifer looks good, the others are hard to tell. Any female can't be light or weak in the hind-end otherwise it's a trainwreck waiting for a place to happen with calving. Depth of the heartgirth or rib looks good. And as farmerjan mentioned, the feet and legs are also important, regardless of breed they need to be square under them and not look crooked or joints oddly bent. 

One thing is for sure, they still have a bit of growing left to do.


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## greybeard (Apr 13, 2017)

I like the tigerstripe for sure. How they turn out is dependent on how you grow them out, as well as their genetics. Brangus/Nellore is going to result in a pretty significant Bos Indus influence, since both breeds are brahman influenced to begin with. Yours look to be of Red Brangus (red angus+brahman). 
Should be excellent mothering ability, good dispositions, and great milk production for their calves. 
The one you have chosen as a pet for your mother, I like least. There are 3 kinds of animals and what they exhibit that I look for in docility.
1. Flighty, high headed, physically nervous animals. I cull 'em.
2. Just the normal, easy going, easy handling gentle animal. These are what we all want.
3. The timid, pushed around, 'dumb' animal that can barely care for and fend for herself much less a calf. The rest of the females push them around. No matter how many times they are worked or run thru a facility, they never seem to know what to do. Not exactly aggressive, just a pain in the butt to get them to 'do'. Easily bullied at the feed trough and bale ring by the others and subsequently, don't grow well. They tend to have a certain 'look' about them, in their head structure and faces. For lack of a better term, a 'retarded' look. Your future pet reminds me of that look. Maybe I'm wrong...

I'm sure you already know all this, but for those here at BYH not familar with Nellores, they are named after the sub region of India they originated from, and all of India does this in regards to regions and their cattle.They're all Brahman (Zebu) but the animals from that region just carry a different name, and it carried over when the Spanish brought them over to the Americas but especially in South and Central America. In India, they would more likely be called Ongole, which is part of the Nellore district. Starting to see some Nellores on the Texas gulf coast because of their better heat resistance and foraging ability.


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