What Physical Structures Are Looked for in a Good Beef Cow

Introduction

The bull'due south fertility is the most important of his traits. You lot want him to be able to sire many calves, and sire them early on each joining flavor. To do this, a balderdash must be sound in his structure so that he lasts many years, serving many cows in a short period of time without suffering injury.

Structural soundness is hence an integral part of this fertility. The bull's ability to remain fertile is dependent on his structural soundness.

Elements of a balderdash'south conformation are heritable. If a balderdash shows straight legs and badly grown claws, for example, whatever sons or daughters kept in the herd may likewise have these issues.

When structural soundness in a balderdash is mentioned, most producers call up in terms of leg and shoulder construction and the wear and tear on feet and joints. This is very important, but structural soundness includes all visual aspects of the structure of the beast.

To understand all aspects of the bull's structure and exist able to compare one animal to the next, it is wise to adhere to a routine examination. One pattern to use may be this:

• Get-go with caput, neck, brisket, shoulders and front legs and anxiety.
• Next view forth the underside to the sheath, and so testicles and the back legs and feet.
• Follow your mode up to the pin bones and hips, then the topline and dorsum to the shoulders and cervix.

The bull should be viewed from the side, from the front end, and from backside. He should be allowed to walk out, and again be viewed from the side, from the front and from backside to confirm any suspicions of poor leg structure.

Allow's look at each of these areas individually.

The head

The caput should prove reasonable length and width yet not exist also big in proportion to the trunk. A head that is too large could potentially increase calving bug.

The eyes

Some breeds are very susceptible to eye cancer. Center cancer is a serious condition leading to wastage in cattle and possible condemnation of the carcase. Susceptibility to it is a heritable trait, and while several factors contribute to its onset, exposure of the eye to sunlight plays a major function.

The eyes should exist well set into the head to reduce this exposure. At that place should be a strong brow over the eye, providing protection from sunlight (hooding). Optics that bulge out from the head should be avoided. Pigment effectually the centre volition too assist in reducing eyelid cancer in the white-faced breeds.

The muzzle

The muzzle should exist wide for efficient grazing. The teeth on the lower jaw should come across squarely with the upper pad. Bulls with overshot jaws (lower jaw protruding) and undershot jaws may have difficulty grazing on pasture, particularly when conditions get tough.

The neck

The neck should exist of skillful length and held high. A bull which holds his caput and neck low may in fact exist straight in the shoulder. This affects the bull's gait and mobility. A straight-shouldered balderdash is besides likely to be straight in the hind legs, a very serious fault, leading to early breakup.

The brisket

The brisket is ane area in which fatty will be deposited. The bull should exist trim in the brisket, as he should be throughout his body. Overfat bulls may in fact be calorie-free in their muscle, producing progeny with lower yielding carcases.

Bulls that appear fat at sale may have been overfed in their preparation. Overfeeding, particularly on high grain rations, may affect the fitness and longevity of the bull, as he carries more weight than his structure is designed for. Overfat bulls may likewise evidence temporary reduced fertility, if fat is laid down in the neck of the scrotum.

The shoulders

The shoulders and front leg structure of the bull are shown in Figure 1 below. The shoulders are naturally sloping. A gradient of 45–60 degrees is considered acceptable. A brute whose shoulder blade is tipped forrad (straight-shouldered) has less angle at the shoulder joint and elbow articulation and this reduces the stupor-absorbing ability of these front end joints.

The direct-shouldered bull tends to walk with a brusk choppy gait. He will behave his caput depression and may have difficulty raising his head much higher up his backline. Quite frequently the tip of the shoulder blade is prominent higher up his backline.

Ordinarily, a bull that is direct in the shoulder will also exist straight in the hind leg. These bulls are specially prone to early on breakdown through the wearing of the leg joints, and the onset of arthritis. While many straight-shouldered bulls will suspension downwardly in the hind leg, they are too more susceptible to arthritis in the pasterns and knees of the front leg. Straight-shouldered bulls may also be straight in the pasterns, causing rapid wearing of the front of the hooves.

The shoulder should exist smooth against the rib cage. Bulls whose shoulders are wide at the point of the shoulder (the base of the neck) or wide between the shoulder blades (when observed from above) may throw heavily shouldered calves, increasing the chance of calving problems (see Figure 2).

Bulls with straight shoulders may also affect the ease of calving. Any deviation abroad from the normal angles of the dogie may produce an abnormal dogie shape, causing calving difficulty.

It should be remembered that many things touch calving difficulty, and that dogie size (weight) in relation to dam pelvic size will have the greatest effect on ease of calving.

Front legs and feet

The front legs of the bull should be straight when viewed from in front. On a structurally sound animal, a vertical line may exist drawn from the point of the shoulder to the middle of the claw. This line should intersect the knee (run across Figure 3 beneath).

As the human knee joints carry more than than half the bull's body weight, deviations from this line may cause excessive wearing of these joints.

A 'knock-kneed' balderdash may have turned-out front anxiety (upward to 10 degrees is considered normal). A bull is considered 'knock-kneed' when the human knee joints lie inside this line, which may eventually lead to overgrown outside claws.

A bull that is wide at the knees (bow-legged) presents a more than serious trouble. These animals are often narrow in their stance and may ringlet their feet equally they walk. They tin also exist wide in their shoulders.

From the side, the forearm and cannon bones should be in a straight line. A human knee articulation forward of this line (buck-kneed) tin can exist associated with steep shoulders and pasterns, and may be a serious fault.

A knee articulation set back of this line (calf-kneed) may be associated with sloping shoulders and has little impact on function.

The way the claws of the feet grow frequently indicates structural problems college upward the legs. Long or excessively curt even claws may point also much or non enough pastern angle, causing both claws of the hoof to grow or habiliment excessively. Overgrown claws affect the mobility and functioning of the beast. Figure four indicates the right angle of the pastern articulation.

Uneven wearing of the two claws, where one grows longer than the other, is often due to a problem in the leg structure. It is acquired by an uneven distribution of weight through the foot.

If the claws roll beyond each other without growing long, a serious genetic fault ('scissorclaw') may be apparent. These cattle vesture the back of the hoof, causing lameness and reducing mobility.

Where excessive hook growth is caused past things other than structure (soft soil, heavy grain feeding, lack of do), actress pressure is placed on the leg joints, somewhen causing lameness.

Feet

Avoid overgrown, scissor or curved claws (see Effigy 5). Mild curling is normal. It is exaggerated by heavy feeding and soft soils. Overgrown, uneven claws are unremarkably indications of poor limb construction or early on signs of hip arthritis. Avoid extremely short feet, which are often associated with overstraight legs.

Walk

Look for a free-moving gait, with the hind anxiety stepping into the footprints of the front feet (see Figure six in a higher place). Overstepping or understepping are indications of structural problems, equally are uneven footprints from the claws.

Hind legs and feet

The construction of the hind legs is similar to that of the front legs. Once again there are well-divers angles in the joints at the hip, stifle, hock and pastern joints. The angles are critical, particularly during serving when big amounts of stress are placed on these joints. Deviations from the correct angles (see Figure 7 below) will cause excessive wear and tear on the joints, leading to early on breakdown. More bulls seem to break downward from bug associated with the hind leg than from any other reason.

Too much bending in the leg joints (directly-legged) is a serious structural mistake. These cattle don't have the flexing and stupor-absorbing outcome of the structurally sound animal, and they are decumbent to astringent wearing of the hip joint, leading to arthritis. Bulls showing arthritic problems are reluctant to serve many cows, equally the status can be quite painful.

When a balderdash mounts a cow, he straightens up the joints in his hind leg. When he thrusts, he farther straightens the leg, placing enormous stress on all joints, but particularly the hock. If these joints don't have enough angulation, they become bloated and painful, leading eventually to their breakdown.

Straightness in the hind leg can be seen in the hock and pastern joints, and this indicates straightness in the stifle and hip. These cattle will habiliment the front of the claws, resulting in curt upright hooves.

Straight-legged bulls are also much less athletic than the sound bull and appear to suffer a college incidence of broken or damaged penises during serving.

A structurally correct bull, when walking, will place his hind foot in exactly the marker left by his front foot. If he is lame, or not moving freely, or if he is straight in his leg structure, he volition short-step and not reach his mark. Likewise, if he is suffering arthritis in ane leg he may tend to curt-step or drag his leg on that side. Problems such as these will affect the serving ability of the bull.

If the degree of the angle in the leg joints is less than ideal, 'sickle hocked' status may be. This is less of a trouble than directly legs, merely in farthermost cases may crusade strained ligaments (pastern and hocks) and long claw growth, increasing the chance of injury, and affecting serving ability. Sickle-hocked bulls may overstep the mark of the front feet as they walk out.

Sickle-hocked bulls appear to have less rest than exercise sound bulls. They may lose their residue during serving, therefore running a higher risk of injury.

Viewed from behind, the tibia and metatarsus (hock articulation) should exist in a directly line. A bull is 'cow hocked' when the hocks are rotated inwards and the hooves rotated outwards. This may cause problems but usually simply in extreme cases where uneven pressure on the claws may cause the exterior claw to grow long.

A more serious problem occurs where the legs are wide at the hocks ('bow-legged'), but the feet are turned in. Extra strain is placed on the ligaments of the hock joints causing lameness and even permanent damage.

Leg angulation

Avert:

• Postal service legs (straight hocks) (see Effigy 8a)
  These cattle generally walk short and have worn 'boxy' toes. They are prone to arthritis in the hips and other joints, and damage to the ligaments. Penis impairment can occur due to serving accidents, as these bulls have poorer remainder than do structurally right bulls. Libido will naturally pass up.
• Sickle hocks (the opposite to straight hocks) (see Figure 8b)
  The joints are over-angled, leading to overstepping and long overgrown claws and lameness. Moderate cases are not a concern, but bad sickle hock strains ligaments, damages the dew claw and affects serving power.

Notes

• Many of the to a higher place symptoms are at least partly genetic. They can exist exaggerated by factors such as overfeeding, mineral deficiencies and soft soil. Hoof trimming tin can temporarily hide some bug.
• Grass-reared or lightly fed bulls accept fewer structural problems and longer working lives, as practise well-managed yearling bulls. Their body weight equally they develop is more in keeping with the weight-bearing ability of their joints.

The sheath

The sheath should be trim and shut to the trunk (see Effigy 9). A long sheath or an excessively angled sheath is more than prone to injury or infection (from grass seeds or other foreign objects) and should be avoided. Some breeds are more susceptible to these problems and buyers of these cattle must exist critical in their selection.

A slack prepuce (the fold of skin covering the penis) should also be avoided. A balderdash who lets his prepuce hang out for long periods of time should be regarded as having a serious structural fault.

Top line

The width of the balderdash's top line will help indicate the animal's muscling. Heavily muscled bulls volition be wide and bulging in their top line, especially behind the shoulder, and in the loin.

Determination

Observing each of these features, in the routine suggested, will ensure that no structural aspects of the balderdash have been missed. Quite oft you lot'll notice an obvious fault such every bit straight legs or uneven hoof growth immediately. You can note this and move on to the next balderdash.

A routine such as this will enable large numbers of bulls to be checked quickly.

The visual exam should exist combined with an assessment of any performance (BREEDPLAN) or fertility information on the bull, to requite a counterbalanced appraisement of that brute.

Farther information

This publication is adapted from NSW Agriculture's Better Balderdash Buying manual. Other publications adapted from this manual include:

• Bull health
• Balderdash direction
• Bull soundness—reproduction
• Yearling bulls—borer their immense potential

strongflusuch.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/animals-and-livestock/beef-cattle/breeding/bull-selection/structural-soundness

Share this post