1. Beef Cattle Selection California State Standards
Animal Science Pathway
D5.1 Evaluate a group of animals for desired qualities and discern among them for breeding selection.

2. Question of the Day: Objective:
What hybrid did we “create” in class yesterday?
Objective:
Today I will understand how to select beef cattle for breeding as demonstrated by my placement of the final class of 4 Angus heifers.

3. Beef Cattle Basics Female= Cow (older than 3 years)
Heifer (Younger than 3 years)
This is a certain breed of beef cattle (ANGUS). Holsteins are a breed, not a gender.
Cattle aren’t bred until around 14 months, so heifers are cows who have had one or less calf.
Male=
Bull

4. Evaluating Breeding Beef Cattle
3 traits to evaluate:
Conformation/ Soundness
Volume/Capacity
Muscling
Based on the general term of beef cattle, what do you think the main purpose of BEEF cattle are? (TPS)
Marbles: the intramuscular fat= tasty tasty

5. Conformation The skeletal and muscular structure of an animal.
Good conformation
Bad conformation

6. Conformation Includes: Feet and Legs Topline
View from front, back, and side
Topline

7. Which is Correct? 3
Hold up your fingers-everyone 1 2

8. Topline
Level and even. No slope

9. Volume/Capacity Who can hold the most water? Length of body
Depth of side
Spring of rib

10. Which one has more capacity?1
Fingers 2

11. Muscling Where do you see muscle on a beef heifer?
Stifle
Round/ Quarter
Overall width and depth
Please label your pictures as I label mine. Write all your notes down please.

12. 1
Right off the bat, which one is heavier muscled (fingers)? 2, correct, now lets take a closer look at why.
Please make the same notes I make on the board, this will help you to judge the class later. 2

13. Check for Understanding
What are the 3 traits we are evaluating for in breeding beef cattle?
What are the 3 things we look for to show us capacity?
Where are two places to look for muscling?
1. Point at your notes where the answer is. Everyone put your finger on the answer! (then random call)

14. Activity
Using the qualities we just discussed (conformation, capacity, and muscling), please place the following 4 Angus heifers first through last and then give an explanation using comparisons.
Example: Placing:
4 was the most capacious and had the best feet and leg structure. Additionally, she had the straightest, most level topline and was the widest at her stifle.
1 was also very capacious and had a level topline, however she was slightly more cow-hocked from behind and narrower at her stifle, so she went second.
3 was no where near as capacious as 1 or 4 because she was shallower through her ribs, even though she was level through her topline and stood on square feet and legs.
2 simply couldn’t compare with the class. She was the lightest muscled as shown through her quarter and has the least capacity since she was short bodied and narrow from topline to the bottom of her rib.
Important: you MUST include your explanation!

15. Class 1 of Angus Heifers 1 2 3 4