AIMING AT AN IDEAL IN BEEF

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 223, 17 June 1936, Page 15

AIMING AT AN IDEAL IN BEEF

Overcoming Trouble of Faulty Ribs

A major fault to be found in cattle is the presence of faulty ribs which in beef beasts denote poor fattening qualities; this is where many of our beef ' beasts fail. Breeders should not al- I low their cattle to get too short and dumpy. Instead they should aim at keeping them as long in the hindquarter as possible, but at the same time shorten them up from the last rib to the hip. Usually when an animal is flat-ribbed it is wide between the ribs, and a beast grown with such conformation seldom makes a good fat toner. Decisions of judges at the live stock shows are almost without exception subject to some criticism, and this applies to beef cattle classes just as much as to any other type of animal. This criticism is to a large extent explained away by the fact that a judge is actually handling the animal, whereas the would-be critic views it only from outside the ring. It Is often the case that the flatter-ribbed an animal is the deeper it will look from the ringside.

Anyone seeking a good dairy cow should regard width between the ribs ns a point to be desired, but if an animal is required for beef purposes this I is a point to be avoided. Beef animals I are often deceptive, and even if some style has to be lost thickness of flesh in the middle of our cattle should be aimed at. but at the same time extremes should be watched with a discerning eye. Faults in the middle of the frame can be easily detected when the calves arc young ami still on their mothers. Mr. A. J. Tanner, a well-known Australian stud stock man. who judged the beef cattle classes at the New Zealand Royal Show at Hastings in October last, states that when calves are feeding. the fore-flank should always be tvatc-hed. If the elbows are turned in and the feet out. with a hollow behind them, it is only a waste of time to endeavour to get the beast into show condition It may he possible, of course, to make the animal better in appearance, hut that would take a great deal of feed and would be an uneconomical proposition.