bred heifers

[Rdr95]

I have some bred heifers that might have conceived at 10 or 12 months if the vet is right. This would be just under a year and right on a year. They are Brangus and Brangus type that would have been exposed to low birth weight Brangus bulls.
What does experience say about whether or not there will be birthing trouble?

 

[TCRanch]

I know nothing about Brangus but I do know it doesn't matter what breed if the pelvic measurements aren't large enough. Low birth weight does not necessarily guarantee calving ease & is subjective (eg: 65lbs vs 75 lbs). I personally don't breed our heifers (Angus, Angus/Hereford) until they are 15 months and pelvic measured. Did your vet give any indication there would be problems?

 

[Caustic Burno]

I have some bred heifers that might have conceived at 10 or 12 months if the vet is right. This would be just under a year and right on a year. They are Brangus and Brangus type that would have been exposed to low birth weight Brangus bulls.
What does experience say about whether or not there will be birthing trouble?

I am a little surprised at the 10 months on Brangus there are several factors effecting sexual maturity

http://www.sites.ext.vt.edu/newsletter- ... s-315.html

 

[Rafter S]

Welcome to the forum. I'm puzzled by this. I raise Brangus heifers, and while I'm certainly not saying it isn't possible that they'd conceive at 10 - 12 months, it isn't typical. So while I don't doubt that it might have happened with one or maybe two of a group, it sounds like you're saying it was more of them?

 

[jerry27150]

brangus heifers bred to low birthweight bull should not have a problem even at this age. vet may be off as they usually go by the size of the fetus. when does he say they are due?

 

[Rdr95]

Thanks for welcoming me to the board!

I've got 3 of 15 that have projected due dates that are early. One of them 10 and two at 12. Two baldie and one Brangus. I was not there when the vet checked them so I don't know what he said about pelvic measurement if anything. My friend that was there said they didn't say much just kind of raised an eyebrow. One due late November, two late January, the rest he said were early April or about a month which would be May of '17.

I don't know exactly when these heifers were born just approximate age +/- a month or two. But I do know they were mounting one another as soon as the settled in at my place. Which if I go by the age the seller gave me would have made them 10+ months.

Aside from these three, which may be early if the ages are correct, what do I need to expect with a typical set of heifers in terms of pulling calves? Is it common? Uncommon? Percentages?

I read the link from Caustic Burno thanks!

 

[Jessica06]

If they were in good condition, then it's definitely possible for them to breed that early. Sometimes we test bulls at 11-12 months, and regularly have a good number of heifers cycling by the time they are 11-12 months. Some by 9-10, even. If you're going to try to push them to put on more frame, I'd try to get them close to where you want them by the end of the second trimester. If they keep growing, have good pelvic area, and the bulls really are calving ease, I'd think they'd be alright.

 

[Rdr95]

Well I guess the vet was just about as wrong as you can get.

The heifer I thought might have been bred at 10 months dropped a calf today. Little bull calf weighs 40-50 lbs. Everyone looks to be healthy.
:bday:

 

[ez14]

Umm you might want to ask the guy about their age again having a brahman heifer calve at 10 months seem unlikly (but im from the north where there are no brahman cattle so take what i say as not much) but that would put them at being bred at 1 to 2 months old! So im sure he was wrong

 

[TCRanch]

We've had some surprises, even though they've been preg checked (granted, one was a preemie). It happens. Glad everything turned out okay for you!

 

[ClinchValley]

Umm you might want to ask the guy about their age again having a brahman heifer calve at 10 months seem unlikly (but im from the north where there are no brahman cattle so take what i say as not much) but that would put them at being bred at 1 to 2 months old! So im sure he was wrong

I believe you may have misread his comments and original post. Conceived at 10 months. Due in November he thought. Which, since it just calved, would put conception right around 8 months? Am I reading it correctly?

 

[ez14]

Umm you might want to ask the guy about their age again having a brahman heifer calve at 10 months seem unlikly (but im from the north where there are no brahman cattle so take what i say as not much) but that would put them at being bred at 1 to 2 months old! So im sure he was wrong

I believe you may have misread his comments and original post. Conceived at 10 months. Due in November he thought. Which, since it just calved, would put conception right around 8 months? Am I reading it correctly?

i looked back and it looks like you might be right maybe rdr95 can clear it up for me

 

[Rdr95]

Correct. We thought conceived at 10 months but now that she just calved we were wrong about the age by 6 months or so. When the vet palpated he probably made an educated guess based on what age we told him we thought the heifer to be.

Everything is going well with the mamma and calf. She is bringing him around the house and has also brought him into the rest of the herd. It is my first experience with raising and cattle seeing the mothering of the calf is really remarkable. Also the behavior of the herd is a bit different there are a few heifers that stay closer to the pair and one or two seem to always position themselves between me and the pair. The Brangus heifers are the ones that are the most watchful/guarding of the pair.

The mother is a baldie
calf is all red
if the father was a herford would he have some white?

 

[cowgirl8]

We have a herd that the heifers mature way earlier than the others. If we keep heifers out of this heard we now lute them. In the past we'd get at least one from this herd calve at 15ish months. Sometimes it goes well, sometimes not. I've learned that you can kind of tell whether they will by just size. Most times when they are bred early, they dont grow as big as they would have unbred.
If you catch them when they start labor, watch the clock and if they get nothing out in around an hour, get them to the chute for evaluation. If you feel you can palpate and see whether the heifer is roomy enough to pull the calf and you know how to pull one, try. But if you slip your hand in and cant get it around the head easily, she'll need a c section and get her to the vet before anything comes out. Once the head is out, the only thing you can do is pull or cut out.
If this is going to be heifers you want to keep long term, take the calf away and bottle feed it. Or, leave it on and let her raise it, but know she probably wont breed back and she'll take that year to catch up in size. And if she raises the calf, it wont be like if she were 2, it will be dinky..If you have more 'cows' calving, take the heifers calves and hold them to graft onto cows if you have any lose calves. Then, that calf has a chance to grow like the rest, and the heifer will get bred when the bulls are put out........

 

[Muddy]

Something tells me they weren't bred to Brangus bulls.

 

[True Grit Farms]

Every calf that our Hereford bull has sired has white on the face.

 

[KNERSIE]

Correct. We thought conceived at 10 months but now that she just calved we were wrong about the age by 6 months or so. When the vet palpated he probably made an educated guess based on what age we told him we thought the heifer to be.

Everything is going well with the mamma and calf. She is bringing him around the house and has also brought him into the rest of the herd. It is my first experience with raising and cattle seeing the mothering of the calf is really remarkable. Also the behavior of the herd is a bit different there are a few heifers that stay closer to the pair and one or two seem to always position themselves between me and the pair. The Brangus heifers are the ones that are the most watchful/guarding of the pair.

The mother is a baldie
calf is all red
if the father was a herford would he have some white?

Yes