True Grit Farms said:
************* said:
Nesikep said:
I don't mind if the cow loses some condition while she's milking if the calf is growing well.. as long as she regains it after weaning and is in good shape for the next one.
This year I broke down and bought a molasses/protein tub for the yearling heifers and first timers, they can use it, but at $180 a tub I don't see how anyone can make those things pencil out for a herd
It pencils out when it comes to increased fertility
Fertility is a heritable trait, around here our cows calve within one year or their gone. Branded a lot of things you post make it sound like there's a fertility issue in your herd? I mentioned this when you first came on CT, you said you had a cow AI'd five times and the bull ended up getting her bred. If you keep giving second chances and making excuses to not cull, you can end up with fertility issues. We have a favorite older cow that lost her calf May 7th. I called her bred when we were working cattle. So against my better judgment we kept her and she hasn't had a calf yet. Those big brown eyes my wife has, clouds my decision making process. So far about 98% of our sorry, mismanaged, malnourished calves make it to the trailer in their lifetime.
https://youtu.be/eczIt-LR-LE
Grit, fertility is not an issue here. AI'ng the amount of females that we do comes with some challenges, which could be easily taken care of with our bulls, but then we wouldn't have the calves we are aiming for. We aren't focused on speed as much as the final product. At the end of the day we want a particular calf and will wait if we have to in order to get it on the ground.
When I have mentioned that we had a couple that took multiple AI attempts, and then the bull finally got the job done, I also didn't mention that they were old as dirt. Many people drop kick them out of the herd, but I see merit in the older mommas, they like in humans, are the backbone of the herd. Have you ever noticed how a really old cow gets respect from the younger, bigger cows? It's true, a herd has a hierarchy, and ignoring it has its own downfalls, which I will talk about in another discussion. I've had some of my very best females come from 14-year-old cows that I must have AI'd 2-4 times.
As for fertility in the younger females and heifers, they have no issues getting settled. The only heifer I had issues with this year was a granddaughter of Leachman Right Time and a Joy Erica cow. Not sure what was going on, but we put our SAV Harvestor son on her and he settled her right away. Must have been my fault at AI, because the bull didn't suffer the same issues with her.
Overall, my herd is pretty stress-free, and problem free. They are given all they could need, and they live pretty relaxed, uneventful lives for the most part. Occasionally something will happen like the cow dying the other day, but we have only lost 2 cows to an accident in the past 7-8 years. 1 cow died last year because she around 15 and time got the best of her. Other than that, they last, and they produce. So three cows out of a herd of around 70 at the moment over the past 7-8 years isn't too bad, knock on wood.
The biggest challenge I face is not fertility or any of the other issues mentioned on CT, it's quite simply the market. I've said it before, and I will keep on saying it until I'm blue in the face, most producers in the area are totally fine with an example that can stand, moo, and not die. When I start discussing average daily gain, EPD's, or pedigree, the eyes glaze over. When that issue resolves itself, things should be smooth sailing.
You mentioned on another thread that 2 pounds ADG suited you fine. If that is what works for you, don't change a thing, that is probably about the average around here, except you are probably ahead of the average by a hair. On my operation, that is not acceptable, I need to see 3.5 or I feel like something is going in reverse. In fact, I'm getting closer to 4 pounds ADG without creep since we went aggressively into AI. If I poured the feed to the calves, I could probably hit 4.5 a day in time, but a nutritionist that I respect said that they would perform better if I held off creep and fed them aggressively after they are weaned. I followed the advice and things are working out well.
With that being said, I'm odd man out. How do you present a bull that has a -4 CED and a 800-900 weaning weight to buyers that have mature cows at 1100 pounds? Unless I have a bunch of buyers like Richmn who can make it happen, then I'm left with a dilemma. One reason why I am planning on sending as many bulls as I can out to Midland when I can do it, AND why I use sexed semen so much, females are much easier to sell versus bulls in my opinion. By the way, not all of my available bulls have negative CED's, my two President sons are calving ease.
I don't want a pat on the back for what I'm getting ready to say, but VERY FEW seed stock producers would open up like I do, and share what's going on, they would just tell you everything is wonderful, "we have nothing but glowing success". Truth be told, they are slaves to their client base, and don't have the freedom to really cut loose and do whatever they want with breeding decisions. That is one reason I greatly admire Kelly Schaff, he's running the show on his terms from what I can see, and that is usually where the best animals come forth from. It does indeed take a "thick wallet" to pursue that path, but the journey is highly rewarding when what you imagine comes to fruition right in front of your eyes. I'm only going around once, and I'm playing for keeps.
