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Golden Hz Farms Measuring Vigor
Golden Hz Farms Measuring Vigor
Many ranchers may not know how to put a numerical value on vigor, it is usually just remembering which calves were up and going the fastest. You will find out that the biggest impact “vigor” might have, is how fast the calf gets around to eating. Upon visiting a colostrum meeting with our local vet, the Director of Veterinary Services and Research at SCCL commented that typically beef calves will have a 33% failure rate in passive transfer. He attributed this to the fact that many calves do not get up and nurse within the first 2 hours of life. Other factors include colostrum quantity and quality from the dam, weather, and difficulty birthing. With those kinds of issues not being our usual calving circumstances, we at Golden H Farms decided to start a study of our Barzona cattle against the beef breed norms. We have only done 1 year of testing, with more to come, but the results have been astounding! We randomly tested 14 calves, and 100% of those calves passed! Our highest testing numbers also came from Barzona/Hereford cross cows, regardless of age and calving experience. Since high colostrum intake is critical for everything from immunity to rate of gain, this is a measurement that proves to be noteworthy later in the production cycle of any calf. Feel free to contact us about our testing results, and we would love to help you add vigor to your herd with bulls or heifers. e
Golden Hz Farms
Registered Barzona Cattle since 1989
Efficient cows bred for Profitability Bloodlines throughout the United States Bulls and Heifers available, private treaty
