The neck of a beef animal should be moderately long, an indicator of growth. The loin and rump should be long, wide and level, causing the animal to be long and strong in its top. Extremely short-bodied and short-legged cattle are associated with excessive fat and inefficient growth rates. Excessively long-legged and long-bodied cattle are associated with late maturity and low-quality grades. The round of beef cattle should be deep and wide when viewed from the rear, with the widest portion about midway between the tail head and hock. The shoulder should be well-muscled and free of coarseness. Extremely heavy, open shoulders can cause calving difficulties. A beef animal should be moderately trim in its rear flank, underline and brisket to prevent excessive waste. At the same time, it should show good depth of body, indicating body capacity. The chest floor, as well as spring of ribs, should exhibit width, indicating body capacity and overall productiveness. Adequate width between front and hindlegs also indicates good body capacity and muscling.
1.10.2 Head
Bull:
It must have a strong head and be broad between the eyes. It must also have a broad mouth. This is an indication that eating and drinking will be easy. The bull should also have a good dewlap. The hide of the bull’s neck must also be darker. This shows that the bull has a lot of testosterone and will be good for breeding.
Cow:
She must have a feminine head. It should not be coarse. She shouldn’t have excessively high eyebrow ridges, and the eyes shouldn’t appear red. Dark pigments around the eyes are preferable. She should also have a broad mouth to take in enough feed. The lower and upper jaws should be equal in length, and the incisors should meet the top jaw adequately.
1.10.3 Shoulders and back
The shoulder bones must not be too prominent, and the shoulder blades should be attached in such a way that they don’t stick out when the bull moves.
Bull: The bull must have a strong back and the loin shouldn’t sag when the bull walks. If the loins do sag when the bull moves it could be an indication that he’ll have difficulties in serving cows. A bull that grazes in the veld must be able to consume roughage, and if it doesn’t have the capacity or depth of body, won’t be able to take in enough roughage to reproduce adequately and optimally.
Cows and Heifers: Females should show femininity with lean refined heads and long, narrow and clean necks. Their overall body shape should be slightly angular, with a slight skin fold shown by the dewlap down the throat and in the brisket area. The shoulder blades will extend to the top of the vertebrae, giving a lean appearance to the top of the shoulders. The shoulders will be moderately muscled and clean. A productive cow will have a broad chest and large spring of ribs, indicating adequate body capacity. Females should be wide and long from hips to pins and deep from pins to the stifle joint, indicating calving ease. The widest portion of the fertile cow should be in the midrib. A fertile female will have a level top line as opposed to a high tail head. The udder should be strongly attached with a level floor, and teats should be proportional to body size.
The tail head shouldn’t be too high, either because:
The female progeny of such a bull will also have a high tail head. The result will be that calving will be difficult for her. The primary objective of a weaner calf system is to ensure high weaner mass, as well as to bring about a high weaner percentage. To reach this objective, the bull that you select for your breeding herd should have good muscling.
1.10.4 Muscling and muscle structure
Bulls:
Thick, heavy and long muscling is desired and indicated by length and size of muscling in the forearm and gaskin areas and width and bulge of muscling in the stifle area, as viewed from the rear and side. Width between the hind legs, both standing and walking, is also a muscling indicator. Thickness, length and bulge of muscling in the back, loin and round indicate muscling from the anatomical regions which contain the highest priced wholesale cuts. The length of the bone largely determines the length of muscles. If muscling is thick and bulging in one area of an animal’s body, the animal is usually heavily muscled throughout. Animals so muscled that they are impaired in movement or appear double-muscled, should not be selected.
To identify a well-muscled bull, you should look at its hindquarters, as well as at the inner and outer thighs, as seen from behind. It is difficult to assess the muscling if the bull is in poor condition or if it is too fat. In this case, you should look at the breadth of the top of a bull’s front leg, the part above the knee, since this part doesn’t accumulate fat and stays relatively constant, irrespective of the animal’s condition.
A well-muscled bull shows that it will produce calves that also have good muscling, and consequently also the right weaner mass. However, be careful that the bull’s muscling isn’t excessively high, or that it is “double-muscled”, as this could produce big calves at birth.
Cow:
Muscling in females should be long, smooth and of moderate thickness. Short, coarse and bulky muscling is usually a sign of poor reproductive efficiency and low milking ability. When you look at the conformation or the structure of a good female animal for your breeding herd, her general conformation must be feminine. She shouldn’t look muscular or hefty but should show feminine muscling. However, you should also consider other traits as well.
1.10.5 Hind quarters
An important point to assess is the rump’s angle. This is the angle from the hipbone to the pin bone. What you want is a slight slope on the animal’s rump. The pin bones should be placed wide apart to ease calving. It will also facilitate the draining of birth fluids, which in turn prevents infection. Check whether the tail is placed correctly and hangs straight down. When an animal has a straight or flat rump, it often coincides with a “baboon tail” where the tail curves upright at the base of the tail. A broad rump ensures a broader birth channel. This will ease calving, and there’s more room for an udder to develop. This will enable the cow to wean a bigger calf. Breadth also indicates capacity linked to adaptability.
1.10.6 Navel skin
A longer, prominent navel can be damaged easily and cause discomfort to the animal. When the cow gives birth to a bull, this calf could also have a longer sheath that could easily be injured.
1.10.7 Midsection
You want to select an animal that is well-rounded. Here you look at the animal from the top line to the belly. If the animal has enough depth along the midsection, it’s an indication that the cow can absorb enough roughage. The animal should have a good span between the ribs. This shows capacity and adaptability. The ribs should be widely spaced and point slightly backwards. Make sure everything is balanced because you don’t want to select “potbelly” animals. As in the case of female animals, the mid-section of the bull must have depth with a good span between the ribs that slants slightly backwards.
Bull’s sheath
An easy way to determine this is to draw a line from the front knee to the bull’s hock. The sheath shouldn’t hang below this line. The sheath should preferably point forwards and not hang straight down. Furthermore, the prolapse or foreskin shouldn’t hang out. If there is a prolapse, the bull should be able to control it, and it shouldn’t be too long.
1.10.8 Soundness of feet en legs
For cattle to travel and remain sound during a long, productive life, they must have the correct set of feet and legs. Legs should be squarely set under the four corners of a beef animal and be reasonably straight. The shoulders should not be too straight. A steep shoulder is a good indicator of leg problems. Animals which exhibit signs of being post-legged, knock-kneed, splay-footed, sickle-hocked, bucked-kneed or with short, straight pasterns should not be selected. The animal’s movement should be free and easy as opposed to uncoordinated, slow or stiff and restricted. Animals with uneven, small, curled or twisted toes and/or crooked feet usually become lame.
1.10.9 Hooves
It must be a strong hoof. A dark or black hoof is preferred to a light, whiter foot. A dark hoof is less prone to disease such as foot rot and is better adapted to rocky or muddy terrain. The size of every cow-heel must be the same. The hoof toes shouldn’t grow out longer but should be level to the soles of the feet.
1.10.10 Legs
Cow:
Slender, thin, feminine and straight legs are preferred. You don’t want an animal with thick, lumpy bones. A slender leg is an indication the animal won’t produce calves that are excessively large. The animal must walk easily and shouldn’t be cow-hocked. Cow-hocked is a condition where the heels point to each other, with the result that they step outwards. Make sure the animal stands squarely. Both the legs and hooves should point straight forward. Seen from the side the legs shouldn’t appear too straight and upright. Take note that her hind hooves should step in the front feet tracks.
Correct Cow Hooked or Boelegged or
Splayfooted Pigeon Toed
Bull:
The legs must walk straight and not at an angle. They shouldn’t have large knobs or thick wrists either.
1.10.11 Frame of skeletal size
In recent years, measurements for height have been used as a descriptive supplement in many herd testing programmes. Adjusted weights and weight ratios accompanied by linear measurements for height have added another dimension to evaluating the fat-to-lean ratio. No one frame size for an animal will be best for all feed resources, breeding systems and markets. Frame size indicates growth and is an indirect indicator of the composition, or fat-to-lean ratio, of beef animals. Large-framed animals are leaner at a given weight than are small-framed individuals. Frame size is related to slaughter weights at which cattle should attain a given amount of fat thickness. Medium-sized cows (450 – 550kgs after weaning of calf) are the most desirable because they offer the best combination of efficiency and marketability in the calves they produce. Small-sized cows (less than 450kgs) are usually efficient (calf weaning weight/cow weight), but they produce calves with less growth potential. Large-sized cows (greater than 550kgs) are not as economical because of higher body maintenance requirements.
Reproductive Soundness
Mature bulls should show masculinity with a burly, masculine head with coarse hair and a heavy jaw. They should show a crest or heavy muscling in the neck and shoulders indicating effects of the male hormone, testos- terone. The testicles should be well-developed and balanced correctly in relation to the age and size of the bull. The scrotum and testicles should be a minimum of 30 centimetres in circumference on a 12-month-old bull to indicate adequate reproductive ability. Although bulls with Brahman breeding will exhibit a more pendulous sheath, the sheath in bulls should be as clean and tight as possible. The bull should indicate adequate libido or sex drive. Make sure the bull has two testicles. They must be of equal size and have a uniform appearance. Their size must be the same – the same length and the same shape. If one of the testicles is situated higher than the other, or if it is smaller, it’s an indication that the organs aren’t fully developed. This may be a sign of weaker fertility and that you won’t be able to breed optimally with this bull. The testicles shouldn’t hang too low down either, as these could get damaged, which could lead to fertility problems at a later stage.
1.10.12 Reproductive soundness
1.10.12.1 Udder
You want an animal with a well-developed udder with four functional teats, even in size. The udder must be fully developed and produce enough milk to wean her calf. The udder must be well-attached and the teats well-placed. The teats are well-placed when they are situated in the centre of the four different quarters
1.10.12.2 Hide
A smooth hide is an indication of the animal’s adaptability to the hot South African climate. Keep in mind that the animal will develop cold winter hair in the season. It is preferable to make the selection on hair quality late in the spring when the conditions are warmer already. Also, remember that the hides of the various breeds differ – they could be smoother or coarser, depending on the breed
1.10.12.3 Predisposition to waste
The degree of finish or fat on an animal will vary depending on the amount it is being fed and the season. Bulls should naturally show an even, thin distribution of fat, even when being fed heavily or during the non-breeding season. Excessively fat bulls will usually lack libido. Indications of predisposition to excessive waste are large amounts of loose hide in the dewlap or brisket, excessive depth in the flank and loose hide in the twist. Cows or heifers should never be fed to excessively fat conditions. Fatty tissue is deposited in udders and around reproductive organs, resulting in reduced milk production and reproductive rates. Females will normally deposit more fat in the brisket, along the underline and over the ribs and back than bulls, especially during their dry season. This is an advantage, if not excessive, because these cattle will require less feed during the winter as opposed to poor-doing or hard-fleshing cattle.
