Best Way To Build Your Herd?

[kaneranch]

Hi
I bought a bred heifer and a bred cow. I was wondering what is the best way to build your herd. I was thinking of either keeping all the hiefers and selling the steers, or selling all of my calves and buying new stock.
Any sugestions? Any one had any experiance with this? Which way turned out more profitable? Thanks

 

[4-H fanatic]

I personally would keep all the calves... grow the steers and maybe butcher them when they're old enough.... or you could just sell the steers when they're littel

 

[Chuckie]

You wind up spending more money in the beginning. I would save my heifers, sell the steers when they are weaned. If the pocket book allows, buy more heifers with money from the steers.

 

[Bez]

Maybe the thought on retaining heifers should be re-thought.

Only keep the "good ones". Proper herd grow involves many aspects - only one of which is bringing in outside genetics and selling the poor ones.

Just because you have a heifer does not mean it should be retained.

Keeping all of your heifers is a sure fire way to build a crappy, hard calving, lop sided, poor gaining, poor mothering, mismatched, lousy genetic diversity herd that costs you in the end.

I see this - often among the new and / or the small person wanting to build their herd. I believe it is a very poor move.

Just because it can be bred does not mean it should be.

Not all are worthy of being called "breeder".

If you have to ask what a good heifer is - you'd best be asking your experienced neighbour as to whether or not the heifer you raised on your place is a keeper.

Bez

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Check the internet for the Breed Association that relates to your cattle. They should have a list of desirable breed characteristics one should look for to help make desicision on who to keep or not. Lot of times you can't really make a good decision on keepers until you see what they look like at weaning.

Looks of your cattle, calving ease & nursing ability of their mama, lineage, etc., help to make a decision.

 

[shorty]

I agree with Bez , I try to keep 2 or 3 of the best heiffers I have every year for replacements , don't keep just anything.

 

[Chuckie]

I forget about adding the use of common sense. (not directed at anyone) Don't keep anything that you wouldn't want another one just like. e.g. heifer with no ears; heifer with both male and female organs; heifer with with one leg shorter than the others; heifer with an extra leg; heifer with udder under her chin.... these are just a few problems...... Ya'll feel free to add anything that might apply that I missed. But I would keep one that had two heads. It won't have to graze as long as the others with the two mouths and can stand in the shade more. I guess that is why the always put directions on the rubbing alcohol, "Do not drink." :shock:

 

[BC]

From an economic side, you are better off buying your replacements. The heifers you buy can be depreciated out over time. To save heifers back requires extra management (a good nutrtional program, land to keep them seperate from bull until they are big enough to breed and a long time from birth until they start paying their way).

If you do keep some of your heifers, keep the big, fast growing heifers from the early part of your calving season. Keep onkly quaklity animals.

 

[jt]

a man once told me that people with good cattle dont buy their cattle at the sales barns, they raise their own. i am currently trying to put this into practice. i am keeping back the best heifers that i raise. part of what determines the best heifers are.. how well they grew off, their dam's history for milking, fertility, etc., how they look and act.

i put a lot of emphasis on the dam. if i dont like her much, or she doesnt measure up, then her calves usually dont hang around.

good luck

jt

 

[preston39]

kaneranch,

It depends on your objectives while building a herd.

To me saving heifers...unless preferred genetics/stock...is mis management.

We can sell a heifer calf at $6-650 and buy a cow with calf for 1000-1100. In six months you can sell the calf for 6-650 dollars...and in another few months you will have another calf for the market 5-600...giving almost a 100% return on investment. A heifer is almost a 3 year investment before any return...not to mention the ? of fertility/delivery/quality of calving,etc.

 

[mgman]

The only time I would recommend buying replacements rather than keeping the best of your own heifer calves, is when you have the opporunity to improve your genetics more by buying than you do by keeping what you have.

 

[Frankie]

Hi
I bought a bred heifer and a bred cow. I was wondering what is the best way to build your herd. I was thinking of either keeping all the hiefers and selling the steers, or selling all of my calves and buying new stock.
Any sugestions? Any one had any experiance with this? Which way turned out more profitable? Thanks

While it may seem less money out of pocket to retain heifers, it takes a long time to get a heifer into production. And some of them will be non-breeders anyway. Unless you are raising some super, duper, rare genetics, with prices today you'd probably be better off selling the heifers and using that money to buy another bred cow.

 

[Bama]

Hi
I bought a bred heifer and a bred cow. I was wondering what is the best way to build your herd. I was thinking of either keeping all the hiefers and selling the steers, or selling all of my calves and buying new stock.
Any sugestions? Any one had any experiance with this? Which way turned out more profitable? Thanks

While it may seem less money out of pocket to retain heifers, it takes a long time to get a heifer into production. And some of them will be non-breeders anyway. Unless you are raising some super, duper, rare genetics, with prices today you'd probably be better off selling the heifers and using that money to buy another bred cow.

I agree keep only the very best of your heifers. Use the money that you make off of the ones you sell to buy a bred cow with a calf at her side is the fastest way to grow your herd.

 

[SF]

Lots of good comments here. If you have a superior heifer born, then she may be worth keeping to add to your herd. Not all heifers should become cows anymore than all bulls should remain bulls. I'd say that probably 75% of the heifers born need to go to the feedlot.

One additional thing to consider. By purchasing new heifers you will be able to utililze your bull longer without the possibility of father / daughter breeding.

My 2 cents worth.

 

[jerry27150]

all true but no one mentioned that anything raised on your own place will be immune to any diseases on your farm ,known or otherwise

 

[Wewild]

all true but no one mentioned that anything raised on your own place will be immune to any diseases on your farm ,known or otherwise

Not quite sure you stated that right. We have black leg in our soil to which none immune without vaccination ( we've only had calves die from this) and we still fight pinkeye. By having a closed herd you don't import diseases that may be around. We retain 10% for herd replacements. Still we import bulls.

 

[kaneranch]

But here's my problem. I have two good quality cows. If I sell their babys then I have the trouble of finding another good quality cow. The way I figure it no one want's to sell a good young cow unless they despretly need money. So If my quality cows are bred to a quailty bulls then chances are that I am going to have at least an ok heifer. And since I only own two cows (for right now) and I don't have a bull so I can switch bulls each breeding bringing in a little bit better genetics each time. Now since I am 14 I could be way off, don't be afraid to tell me. Thanks

 

[Wewild]

But here's my problem. I have two good quality cows. If I sell their babys then I have the trouble of finding another good quality cow. The way I figure it no one want's to sell a good young cow unless they despretly need money. So If my quality cows are bred to a quailty bulls then chances are that I am going to have at least an ok heifer. And since I only own two cows (for right now) and I don't have a bull so I can switch bulls each breeding bringing in a little bit better genetics each time. Now since I am 14 I could be way off, don't be afraid to tell me. Thanks

If you have a quality bull bred to quality cows and have quality heifers out of them .. then keep them. You are going to have to AI or buy a new bull every 2 or so years to get to where you want to be ... and the 2 year thing might be too long.

Oh yeah you are going to carry those heifers for 2 years and 6 months or so before you get any return ... still we do it ... but we ain't got 2 cows.

 

[msscamp]

From an economic side, you are better off buying your replacements. The heifers you buy can be depreciated out over time. To save heifers back requires extra management (a good nutrtional program, land to keep them seperate from bull until they are big enough to breed and a long time from birth until they start paying their way).

If you do keep some of your heifers, keep the big, fast growing heifers from the early part of your calving season. Keep onkly quaklity animals.

Perhaps I'm wrong here, but it seems to me that the known genetics of a bred and raised heifer would far outweigh any detriments of 'extra management', 'keeping them seperate', etc, providing the heifer is a quality heifer. Not to mention that one could be raising a breed that is not readily accessible in one's particular area. Plus, have you checked the price of heifers lately? All it takes to keep them seperate is a corral and some feed, or a pasture. I'm not sure where you are coming from with this post. Could you explain a little more? Thanks!

 

[Daybreak]

Howdy,

If you are happy with what your cows have raised (birth weights, growth, weaning weights, udder, temper, carcass, fleshing ability, yearling weights) then, by all means. KEEP your heifers. You know what you have put into them. Let someone else buy the culls.

I have all registered black angus here. I collected from my current herd sire because of his superoir genetics, calving ease, growth, weaning, looks, udder, carcass, yearling etc...) I just could not let him be totally gone. I have 355 straws to use into the future. I do not suggest that you be greedy. I do not suggest you keep a heifers just because! Last year I only kept 6 out of 24 heifer calves. I am sure they might work for some folks out there, but they were not the cream of the crop. Those are the ones I kept to finish, breed, and roll into my herd.