The Daily Missoulian., 1917-08-12
CALVES OF UNIFORM
SIZE MORE VALUABLE
Animals of Equal Size En-
ablcs Buyer to Figure
Closer on Weight.
CATTLE OUGHTTO BE
BRED AT SAME TIME
! Need for Better Stock Be-
cause of Higher Valua-
ton of Farming Land.

ono of the things which contributes
great deal to hish selling prices
among :, herd of calves is uniformity,
Calves that are tho same size ana MS
much as possible the same color viii
prlhG more on the market than ami
mails that are of mixed ages anI
breeds. There is n very apparent yroa
son for this II is far easier to figure
on II uniform bunch than u MIXED lot
Every buyer knows this and when ne
finds Il mixed lot he hedges, nlaNs SAT-,
Tor his own sake and will not offer
what he could afford to give for a uni
form bunch. He discounts the smaller
animals. Then when animals are all
the sam" color they present a nicer ap-
prarancc and impress any buyer more
lavorably than Il bunch that are every
color.
Don't Cross Breed
There is an easy way to so about it
TO get uniform calves In the first
place use bulls of the same breed every
year. There is II current opinion that
cross breeding, that Is. the use of bulls
OF one breed tor a few years and then
chanGc to another breed makes for
bigger cattle, particularly where Here,
lords and Shorthorns are used. but
TINS belief is not borne out by the facts
of the case, ono OF the incest herds of
grade beef cattle the writer ever laid
eyes on was straight Hereford bred
for 2S years and a finer grade herd
never stepped. 1t is better, in the opin.
ion of many stockmcn. 10 keen ON
with tn" same breed of bulls ana
grade up the herd than to br crossing
and mixing and never getting any
where. OF course, where bulls of one
breed are used constantly they must
hc good bulls. but one can afford to
buy such animals at the present prices
of cattle.
Don't Let Bulls Run.
IN" rhi"i factor which mitigate,
against tn" uniform size in cattle is
the practice of letting the bulls run
with tn" cows all the year around.
When such a practice is followed the
calves come at all seasons of the ycur
From the first of March To the first
of December these little fellows keep
on coming, and it is next 10 impossible
TO get II hnEch of any uniform age
or size. T'. best method to follow is
to keep IL" bulls by themselves and
not to turn them with the cows unt il
about Jun" 80. Then the bulls can h"
taken out rf the herd and kept by
themselves ftCr the first of the year
or even after Thank SEiNing time. This
makes 4 straight bred bunch OF Calves
most Of which viii be born during the
early Sprng months. Fan calves
among ~ herd of beef cattle arc a
nuisance; they often get their ears and
Nails frozen and when kept with the
earlier calves they naturally get the
lraNinrs Of IN" food from which the
stronger animals force them.
Breed at One Time.
i'N thus having ali the calves come
an the spring they are more of u size
and will naturally do better when they
arc all put in the feed lot after weaving
IN the fan. Th"r" will OF should br no
small Weddings that require spccia |
feeding and when Il buyer comes to
look over tn" bunch he finds animals
that are hnSN to figure ON and hcnc"
will giv" Il higher price.
Uniformity of both size and brccd-
ing ar" fast getting to be important
figures in modern beef cattle prod,ic-
tion. With land at the present high
pric" and growing higher each year
we must raise better cattle if the op.r-
ton is to b" mad" continually prof
itHksc. The best ways to do this ar"
TO Civ" more attention to both tn"
breeding and the feeding Of the cattle"
IT good N"IrlingS ar" desired calves
cannot b" i"ft to rustic their own llv-
ing during the winter. they must ho
fed and fed Wcll. And this pays, in
asmuCh as hcifcrS that have been well
fed can b" bred later in the summer
Of their Ncarling year and still not
miss CalNing in their three year old
form. However. where this practice
is followed the hCfcrs should not be
bred Mntil NngmSt.