Any advice on growing heifers?

[M. Johnson]

When you say you weaned them at 3 months...were these bottle calves? Or were they calves out of your cows, that you weaned too early? If so, what kind and how big are their momma's? Or , did you buy them off of some one who for some reason wanted to sell them before weaning time? If so, what kind and how big were those momma cows?

I weaned them myself off my cows, which are around 1200lb

 

[M. Johnson]

First off, welcome to the CT forum...
Couple of questions... Were these bottle calves? Or calves on cows? If they were on cows, WHY did you wean them at 3 months? The cow's job is to feed the calf to get it to grow to be weaned at an average 7 months... Unless there is extreme conditions, and sometimes drought will be one, there is NO REASON to wean at 3 months under normal conditions. And then, if you do wean off cows at that early age, they need to be fed well, so they will keep growing.

You said that there were several reasons they were at lighter weights and looking a little rough, and admitted it was more your own neglect/fault. I admire someone that can come right out and say, Hey I didn't do things right... need to try to fix it, make it better, and have learned from it. SO kudos to you for that.
If they were bottle calves then 3 months is good for weaning but they need good high quality feed and real good hay to keep on growing for at least another 4-6 months.... or they will be stunted.... By the time they hit 7-8 months, they still need good feed/grass, but they will have gotten a good start, and good grass will go a long way to helping them grow better with less concentrated feed.

The guys from Canada will have bigger cattle at weaning that many of us here in the central, eastern area.... VA, NC, SC, TN, KY.... many of our cows are not as big as the farther northern cattle and do not wean big calves like they do... Most of what we wean is in the 450-600 range... at 7-8 months... a round figure here is 75 lbs at birth, 50 lbs mo gain... and we try for better than that... but that is a very "round figure guestimate"... Has some to do with the humidity, crazy weather swings we get, the soil and grasses they have to grow on, age of weaning too... and the smaller size of the cows overall... ours run in the 1050-1250 range. We don't push them with feed, but they learn what some silage is, and once weaned they get silage and some grain top dressed, and good hay.... plus grass when we have it for them. They will get this for 60 days or more, and then we normally sell them as feeders. The heifers we keep for replacements will get some grain at pasture, mostly for the "keep them coming to the catch pens" a couple times a week... but they don't go out until they are pretty good size.
Fecal samples to determine worm loads... no need to worm too often, but timely worming can make a big difference.
Salt and mineral should be kept in front of them all the time…

These were on my cows, which weigh an average of 1200lb. I'm relatively new to cows and read that it's possible to wean at 3 months old but that's minimum. I had them on creep feed for a month during that but that obviously isn't something I want to do again if it can be helped. I would now like to go ahead and keep most of these heifers to breed and had asked a vet about her advice in person looking at them but also wanted to know what other cattlemen with experience would do in my position. Thanks for your input

 

[Brute 23]

These were on my cows, which weigh an average of 1200lb. I'm relatively new to cows and read that it's possible to wean at 3 months old but that's minimum. I had them on creep feed for a month during that but that obviously isn't something I want to do again if it can be helped. I would now like to go ahead and keep most of these heifers to breed and had asked a vet about her advice in person looking at them but also wanted to know what other cattlemen with experience would do in my position. Thanks for your input

What did the vet say?

 

[M. Johnson]

What did the vet say?

She said she would put them on feed for a few months and she'd come check them out again. I think she was planning around April. I'll probably have her do a fecal test then

 

[farmerjan]

@M. Johnson . Thank you for replying to my questions. Since you are new, and we all had to learn somewhere... I appreciate your being candid. Most cattle are weaned off the momma cows in the 6-8 month range... 205 days is what they base the "average weaning weight" on in any of the bull stud catalogs and such. There is no good reason to wean a calf off when it can be growing and gaining weight on it's momma's milk for 6-8 months. That is her job... reason's for weaning early could be drought to reduce the cow's nutritional needs on poor pastures, but then the calves need to be fed for months instead of the momma cow feeding them. They cannot go from momma's milk, weaned at 3 months and then fed for a month or 2 and turned out. It just doesn't work.
Besides... if the cow carries a calf for 9 months... and say, you want to calve in March... the bull goes in with them in June... if you pull the calf at 3 months... you are basically feeding that cow with no job to do for 9 months... makes NO SENSE.... in most circumstances.
The general idea is for them to calve... they get 60-90 days to come into peak milk production and their reproductive tract to get back in good shape... then she gets bred back by the bull. The calf nurses for another 4-5 months... gets weaned off and she gets 60-90 days average, "off"; she dries up, and the fetus does the greatest amount of growth in the womb the last several months. They also will have the "best" colostrum that is developed after they go dry, and their body prepares for the next calf.

This is strictly my opinion... I have not seen them.... If they were mine, I would not retain them for breeding as they have been shortchanged... or at least, do not keep the smaller ones. They will possibly have trouble conceiving, or trouble calving if the bone structure is not well developed as they were growing.
Prices are very high right now for cattle/calves/feeders. You did not say how many you have... BUT.... at 500 lbs a heifer is worth $1200-1500; $2.50-3.25/ pound....... different areas, different markets. You could sell 2 and buy a bred, ready to calve cow for about the same money... You would be over a year ahead and a bred cow, or better yet, a cow with a calf by her side, would be more of a sure thing. I am assuming that you want to increase your herd... and we keep some heifers to do that... BUT... we do not keep any that have not had a very good start on their momma's, have grown good and are ready to breed to calve between 24 and 30 months. Your heifers will be 6-12 months behind and feed... even grass.... is not cheap to keep them.... and one more thing... even if they start to grow out some, if they have any issues from being small... all you have to do is lose one trying to calve and you are burying a BIG chunk of money in the current cattle market. And even if money is no object... it is not fair to a heifer that is not well grown out, to try to calf and die trying... or even to lose the calf... The more they have going for them, the better. And we all still will lose one on occasion... too big a calf, bad presentation, you name it... it happens to every single one of us... You need the odds stacked in your favor as much as you can do it... Having heifers that are not as well grown and getting older is just not an ideal situation.
We bought some bred heifers years ago, when prices were alot cheaper... "they needed some feed"..... bred a little small.... supposedly to an easy calving bull... out of 9 (or 10), one died calving, 1 had a dead calf, and we had 3 that did an adequate job of raising their calves, and they were fed good to try to improve their condition and all... not alot until they calved so the feed would not all go to the developing calf and make it too big in the last trimester... but after they calved they were fed really good... and they did put on some weight and size... but the damage was done already. We kept 7 that did breed back, but of them only 3 made enough milk the 2nd calf to justify keeping them.

Just relating to you what happened to us...

 

[Travlr]

She said she would put them on feed for a few months and she'd come check them out again. I think she was planning around April. I'll probably have her do a fecal test then

How old were the heifers when you weighed them at 500 pounds?

 

[Brute 23]

She said she would put them on feed for a few months and she'd come check them out again. I think she was planning around April. I'll probably have her do a fecal test then

Good deal.

 

[Warren Allison]

These were on my cows, which weigh an average of 1200lb. I'm relatively new to cows and read that it's possible to wean at 3 months old but that's minimum. I had them on creep feed for a month during that but that obviously isn't something I want to do again if it can be helped. I would now like to go ahead and keep most of these heifers to breed and had asked a vet about her advice in person looking at them but also wanted to know what other cattlemen with experience would do in my position. Thanks for your input

In that case, they are small due to nutrition--stunted. While that has no impact on the DNA of the heifers...they carry the genetic potential to be 1200 lb cows... I doubt they ever will. grow that big. But they could very well have calves the size they were when they were born, and that could be a delivery night mare. I think the advice others have given is your best bet: Sell them now while they will bring a good price, and buy some good replacements. I wouldn't breed them at all, except maybe to one of those mini boutique bulls, but you won't get a marketable calf even doing that. The calves would probably be too big to sell as minis in that specialty market.

 

[sgreear]

Good thread

 

[OBAX]

I will go against the crowd here and say that if your cows have sufficient milk to raise calves past 3 months, and they maintain adequate body condition throughout, then I'd keep the heifers and feed them and grow them until they get about 700-750# and breed them to a heifer bull.
The main question is, will you be happy with more cows exactly like your current cows? The momma cows? Are they out of a quality bull? A slow hard start is not a deal breaker for making a good cow. I've watched it happen many many times. Will it cost more in feed and lost time? Sure it will, but you'll know what you have.
Those heifers may be small for their age, but they do not appear to be short legged and pot bellied which is absolutely hard to recover from.

 

[M. Johnson]

How old were the heifers when you weighed them at 500 pounds?

I weighed them 2 weeks ago

 

[Travlr]

I weighed them 2 weeks ago

How old are they?

 

[M. Johnson]

How old are they?

Youngest, 1 year and 1/4. Oldest, 1 year and a half

 

[M. Johnson]

I will go against the crowd here and say that if your cows have sufficient milk to raise calves past 3 months, and they maintain adequate body condition throughout, then I'd keep the heifers and feed them and grow them until they get about 700-750# and breed them to a heifer bull.
The main question is, will you be happy with more cows exactly like your current cows? The momma cows? Are they out of a quality bull? A slow hard start is not a deal breaker for making a good cow. I've watched it happen many many times. Will it cost more in feed and lost time? Sure it will, but you'll know what you have.
Those heifers may be small for their age, but they do not appear to be short legged and pot bellied which is absolutely hard to recover from.

Thanks for your insight. I do like their mamas. I may just sell a few of the smallest

 

[mwj]

Why do so many people brag on the small ''cow'' but don't like the heifer it takes to make them?

 

[Travlr]

Youngest, 1 year and 1/4. Oldest, 1 year and a half

You said you have 1200 pound cows, right? Do you know what the average age of weaning is at 205 days (seven months)? Do you know what an average is for a yearling weight? Do you know when a calf gets most of it's growth... and what happens if it doesn't get it's growth in the normal time frame? If you have an average 500# calf between a year and a quarter/half how heavy to you think that calf will mature at?

 

[M. Johnson]

You said you have 1200 pound cows, right? Do you know what the average age of weaning is at 205 days (seven months)? Do you know what an average is for a yearling weight? Do you know when a calf gets most of it's growth... and what happens if it doesn't get it's growth in the normal time frame? If you have an average 500# calf between a year and a quarter/half how heavy to you think that calf will mature at?

It looks like you're testing my knowledge based off your questions. I have researched and asked cattlemen when they like to wean. What should a yearling weigh? And when you ask if I know "what happens if it doesn't get its growth in a normal time frame", I never heard of a "stunted" cow until now if that's what you're referring to.
Also I don't really have any idea what to expect their weight to reach when they're mature

 

[Travlr]

It looks like you're testing my knowledge based off your questions. I have researched and asked cattlemen when they like to wean. What should a yearling weigh? And when you ask if I know "what happens if it doesn't get its growth in a normal time frame", I never heard of a "stunted" cow until now if that's what you're referring to.
Also I don't really have any idea what to expect their weight to reach when they're mature

Yeah, I'm seeing if you know what you're getting into. I think you're getting some inclination. So look, it's the only way to learn and it's great that you're asking the questions.

I think you got some bum advise to wean so early. I hear a lot of hobby farmers talking about it as though it's a good idea and I don't get the logic. You have a cow to raise a calf. It's her job.

 

[M. Johnson]

Yeah, I'm seeing if you know what you're getting into. I think you're getting some inclination. So look, it's the only way to learn and it's great that you're asking the questions.

I think you got some bum advise to wean so early. I hear a lot of hobby farmers talking about it as though it's a good idea and I don't get the logic. You have a cow to raise a calf. It's her job.

Well don't worry, I definitely don't want to wean that early again, that ain't a question now lol

 

[ClinchValley86]

Just to offer my 2 cents.

I'd sell them and fast. Their ship of potentials has long since sailed.

Also, hate to say it, but id trim the tail switch when you do. Easy to tell their age with switch close to the ground.

Best of luck.