We sold some calves off the cows Tuesday. Mainly March April calves. It had been several years since we had sold any off the cow. With the drought we felt it was our best choice. We were very satisfied. We hauled them in the day before. The steers averaged 722 lbs and not creep fed.
Sold off the cows
- Thread starter elkwc
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kenny thomas
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Lee VanRoss
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What would you estimate the average December (mid pregnancy) weight of your cows to be?
To be honest I would hate to say. We have gradually reduced weight some. Currently our goal is a 1,400 lb cow. Some are above that and some are lower. This group would be in the middle of our
Lee VanRoss
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With a 722 lb steer weight and no creep I had your cows pegged at 14 -1500 and either on decent grass
or lick tanks. Are you where you can monitor grass or use rotational grazing? I found I had to back off on the
frame size of the bull to keep from getting frame increases in retained heifers. A self contained herd would be
better for maintaining weight within the frame. ? I need to ponder that,,,
With a 722 lb steer weight and no creep I had your cows pegged at 14 -1500 and either on decent grass
or lick tanks. Are you where you can monitor grass or use rotational grazing? I found I had to back off on the
frame size of the bull to keep from getting frame increases in retained heifers. A self contained herd would be
better for maintaining weight within the frame. ? I need to ponder that,,,
Jeanne - Simme Valley
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I thought you sold your herd of cows with the title of this post. Sneeky way to word it!!!
Great weights.
Great weights.
Jeanne that wasn't intentional. That is the main reason we are selling calves off the cow instead of weaning them. We will need every bite for the cows. We have sold a few cows and will sell some more. Our goal is 80-85 cows and hope we can stay there. We are at 110 without the 11 replacements. We started AIing some in 21. We have a great set of replacements both AI sired and walking sire sired. We plan too keep the top 15-20 and sell cows instead. We were hoping for wheat pasture but it is getting late now. We will continue to adjust plans as the drought plays out.
We are in a drought so grass varied greatly. The area these calves were in was real dry in mid summer. Then got some rains starting around September that helped. The grass here isn't the strongest. We have found certain bloodlines that perform better in our environment. Had a talk with the PB breeder after the sale that bred the sire. He is a Hoover Dam grandson. His sire was a top son who produced many top feed efficiency performers. They translate that to grass performance for us better than any of the current bloodlines we have tried. We are trying some Growth Fund influence now. The PB is using some also and early indications are they perform better than any current sires they have tried. We have to have a high volume cow for our low quality forages. So have found regardless of frame size a cow needs to be 1,350 lbs or above
We select for efficient cows with a little more milk than some do. In our experience if they are efficient they will maintain condition as well and wean bigger calves without extra inputs.
Jeanne - Simme Valley
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You are doing a great job. Most people raise what they like, not want their land dictates.
I'm on the opposite for grass. NY raises lots of grass. If you have small cows out here, you are going to have fat toads.
One thing you might think about with your new replacements. Instead of cutting down to the 15-20 now, you could breed all of them and keep the ones that settled in first 30-45 days. Then you have a set of nice bred heifers to sell. Of course, that depends if you can feed them.
I think my mature cow average is around 1600
I'm on the opposite for grass. NY raises lots of grass. If you have small cows out here, you are going to have fat toads.
One thing you might think about with your new replacements. Instead of cutting down to the 15-20 now, you could breed all of them and keep the ones that settled in first 30-45 days. Then you have a set of nice bred heifers to sell. Of course, that depends if you can feed them.
I think my mature cow average is around 1600
Thanks Jeanne for your reply. Until now we have been able too avoid herd reductions like many have. But the prolonged drought has finally made it time to make some hard decisions. I have went over every option several times. I will likely cow some young productive cows and keep their daughters. I was able to buy an 8 y/o sire last year that a PB breeder was finished with. He sired several top heifers. Also will retain one son. I sold the sire in the spring as I had extra bulls and he was the oldest. Hindsight says I should of used him another year. So have decided to keep several of his daughters and sell their mothers. The cows with any udder issue or structural issue are gone. I will cull a few good producers just because they tend to be a little less easy fleshing and efficient. I'm to the point I don't look forward to going to the pastures. As it is hard for me to cull a productive, efficient cow and equally as hard to cull a heifer with replacement potential that reflects the progress of our breeding program. I will keep as many replacements as I feel we can feed. Was hoping for wheat pasture for them. If we get any now it will be in Feb most likely. We will still sell some heifers that IMO will be top replacements. We were heavy on good heifers in a drought year. Timing was wrong. We will also cut back on some herd bulls. Have some nice young prospects that I feel we need to develop and give a chance. Overall we are in a better situation than many. We will play the cards we were dealt and make the most of them.
Stocker Steve
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So you sell thin cows, or sell cows with small calves, or both?
We normally sell those that require extra inputs 2-4 weeks after we wean their calves. Was planning to sell some this week if the weather allows. I was taught and have found that most cows do well in a good year. A drought exposes those who are harder keepers. One I will be selling raises good calves and breeds back on first cycle usually but she doesn't look as good. She also doesn't have the volume needed for our forages.
Travlr
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One thing, and I'm not sure this will fit into your program since it sounds like you are selling older cows and keeping heifers...
If you retain five year olds or older you can use a better bull to make future replacement heifers. You don't have to be stuck with a calving ease/low birth weight bull that isn't as likely to produce good skeletal structure for calving on the maternal side.
libertygarden
Well-known member
What happens to cows/heifers that are sold bred unintentionally, say a 4 month bred cows taken to market not knowing she's bred? Do they get checked by the sale barn?
Travlr
Well-known member
Different places, different procedures...
In Arkansas they always had a vet on hand to preg check if requested. In South Dakota anyone needing their cattle sold as bred needed to get them checked before dropping them off. I'm sure different barns have their own services and procedures within states.
Stocker Steve
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Have two of those...
Also have some third cycle cows. Plan to shorten the first breeding season, and then market the second breeding season cows as "fall calvers".
All our local barns in Texas have vets on site. You just say if you want the cows palp or not. They charge a couple dollars. They will mark the cow with a 4 for 4 months bred or 8 for 8 months bred.
I like to sell cows in the 7, 8, 9 months bred. They bring good money and you don't have to take the hit on letting them raise a calf.
We dumped every thing we could last week before we get a freeze. Prices were down from the two weeks prior but steers straight off the cows avg mid 6s and almost $1100. That's pretty hard to beat in our world. No way I could have held them and longer and done better.
On a side note, we had some bulls mixed in that slipped by. They were about a nickel off the steers. Made me question if that deal is worth it.
On a side note, we had some bulls mixed in that slipped by. They were about a nickel off the steers. Made me question if that deal is worth it.
