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Best Cattle Crosses For Unassisted Calving
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<blockquote data-quote="Ky hills" data-source="post: 1766023" data-attributes="member: 24816"><p>For me, I really don't care if a calf is out of a heifer or a cow, as long as the heifer has taken care of and raised her calf. </p><p>If a heifer doesn't claim her calf, she is gone and the calf won't be kept as a replacement either. </p><p>Heifers calves may wean off smaller, but usually mature at a similar size to the others. </p><p>We breed our heifers Angus and Herefords at around 13-14 months now, used to religiously wait until 15 months when I had Charolais. </p><p>We use heifer bulls with some growth. Preferably Angus bulls. </p><p>I have used a average BW Hereford bull and had good results from him. Then once bought a Hereford bull at a registered sale promoted as a sleep all night calving ease bull. Didn't know much about Hereford pedigrees, and found out later he was the result of a fire and ice mating between a calving ease bull and a show bred high BW cow. His numbers said CE, but that was not the reality. We had several hard pulls that year from heifers. I also believe that using the same breed of bull as the heifers makes for smaller calves because the hybrid vigor starts at conception. We didn't have to pull calves from the straight Herefords and the one BWF heifer was an easier pull.</p><p>With a CE Angus bull the crossing effect doesn't seem as much of an issue.</p><p>Honestly, I can't fault anyone for using a longhorn, corriente, Jersey bulls on heifers if you aren't in a situation where you can watch them real close. Time is of the essence when calving assistance is needed, and a live calf is always worth more than a dead one. Then there is always the fact that complications can cause the heifer to not breed back as soon as she should too.</p><p>For most situations though, a CE Angus bull will be more than sufficient.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ky hills, post: 1766023, member: 24816"] For me, I really don’t care if a calf is out of a heifer or a cow, as long as the heifer has taken care of and raised her calf. If a heifer doesn’t claim her calf, she is gone and the calf won’t be kept as a replacement either. Heifers calves may wean off smaller, but usually mature at a similar size to the others. We breed our heifers Angus and Herefords at around 13-14 months now, used to religiously wait until 15 months when I had Charolais. We use heifer bulls with some growth. Preferably Angus bulls. I have used a average BW Hereford bull and had good results from him. Then once bought a Hereford bull at a registered sale promoted as a sleep all night calving ease bull. Didn’t know much about Hereford pedigrees, and found out later he was the result of a fire and ice mating between a calving ease bull and a show bred high BW cow. His numbers said CE, but that was not the reality. We had several hard pulls that year from heifers. I also believe that using the same breed of bull as the heifers makes for smaller calves because the hybrid vigor starts at conception. We didn’t have to pull calves from the straight Herefords and the one BWF heifer was an easier pull. With a CE Angus bull the crossing effect doesn’t seem as much of an issue. Honestly, I can’t fault anyone for using a longhorn, corriente, Jersey bulls on heifers if you aren’t in a situation where you can watch them real close. Time is of the essence when calving assistance is needed, and a live calf is always worth more than a dead one. Then there is always the fact that complications can cause the heifer to not breed back as soon as she should too. For most situations though, a CE Angus bull will be more than sufficient. [/QUOTE]
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