 When judging dairy heifers, it is done a little differently due to they're not being utter present. So instead, we look at frame, feet and legs, dairy character, and body capacity. The traits have different percentages depending on the weight of importance that is placed on them. If a judge is looking at a heifer, they should start with frame and move down the list. Depending on the quality of the trait, the heifer will increase or decrease in value. Frame has many different characteristics that make up a dairy heifer. When focusing on frame, a judge should look at backline, stature and front end. The backline should be long and level with a wide loin, long rump and pin bones being slightly lower than the hip bones. Cow A has a stronger backline than cow B. A heifer stature should be tall, consider it to their age. The height at their withers should be similar to their hips. Cow A has a straighter and stronger stature than cow B. Lastly, the front end should have a wide and deep chest. Shoulder blades should blend smoothly from the neck and into the body. Cow A has a better powerful front end than cow B. A dairy heifer's feet should have a steep angle and a deep heel with short, well-rounded closed toes. Their rear legs from the rear view should be straight, wide apart and feet squarely placed. When looking at rear legs from the side view, there should be a slight angle at the hawks. The pasterns should look short and strong with some flexibility. Dairy character for a heifer consists of multiple characteristics. These are angularity, sharpness, openness and cleanness. Sharpness comes from the withers expressing the vertebrae and chine being defined clearly. Openness refers to the heifer's rib cage. A judge wants to see long, flat ribs with width between each rib. Cleanness goes back to the quality of the cattle's bone structure and coat. A heifer should be smoothly made with no coarseness to its image. Body capacity for a dairy heifer should be relative to the heifer's age. A judge should look at body depth, length and width showing a round rib cage increasing towards the rear. Also, the body capacity needs to portray a wide chest floor and open fore ribs. All of these characteristics, frame, feet and legs, dairy character and body capacity are important for a heifer to have so it can hold a healthy, growing calf and to have enough room to digest large amounts of forage and to move around with ease. Thank you for watching. Be sure to check out our other livestock judging videos as well as the Alabama Cooperative Extension YouTube channel.