What do we know about any momma cow who earns the nickname of “brood cow”? She gets with calf every year. She delivers a live calf every year. She coaxes that calf to life after birth, getting it to stand up, teaching it to nurse. As that calf grows alongside her, she teaches it to forage for its feed, preparing it for a seamless weaning. She does this every year into a great older age. No cow gets “old” unless she has good reproductive genes. Any son she raises should have half his genetic makeup from her; hopefully, it includes the natural fertility genes.
These kinds of cows produce the “maternal trait” bulls. As much as you can, get your cows bred to enough “maternal trait” sires that their heifers meet your annual replacement needs. It will over time produce a less efficient cow herd if you are forced to keep heifers from the “performance type” sires, as they will be more masculine/less feminine, have bigger calves and more difficult calving, all indicators of a progressive loss of fertility (the result of “single trait selection” over multiple generations).
Using “performance” sires on “maternal” cows maintains a constant level of heterosis in your mating results, so you will get competitive growth on your male “market” calves and superior mothering ability and potential long herdlife from your female calves. The odd female that is not “shemale” enough to be a good mother cow brings a good price in today’s fed cattle market.
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