Breeding 14 month old heifers...

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I'd want to make sure I was using a low birth weight bull that had high epds for calving ease.

 

[dun]

Kind of depends on the bull and how athletic he is. We had a 1600 pound bull that was so rough he would knock grown cows to their knees, and had a 2200 pound bull that wouldn;t even make a small heifer take a step. That big lug hardly put any weight on the cows/heifers while he was breeding them.

 

[cowgirl_jenna]

I wouldn't worry so much with actual bull size. I look more at if he is a proven calving ease sire with lower birth weight calves. I have seen some pretty old bulls well over 2000+ lbs, and that may not be the best choice either, but mostly watch calving ease on them.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

I'd want to make sure I was using a low birth weight bull that had high epds for calving ease.

I agree, and other than that i don't see to much trouble with breeding 14 month old heifers as long as they are atleast average or bigger.

 

[Beef Man]

There is literally 100's of 14 mo. old heifers bred in this country. It is a good ideato get them pretty well growed out at least 70% 0f mature size, if possible. Do know that once in awhile some show up in the fall as bred that are to small but someone buys them and,like anything else,once in awhile they,also,calve out. [that's called luck] As to the size and age of the bull used on them pure comman sense is recomended. Birthweight and calving ease should definitly be a strong consideration. On this place we will start calving heifers real soon at 22--23 months and think nothing of it. Good Luck

 

[dun]

Thanks for the info guys!! Much appreciated...I am considering everything you have said...including low BW bulls. Will a full sized bull actually hurt these young heifers trying to breed them?

Thanks!

Tim

If he's clumsy he can. We lost a grown cow a couple of years ago to a bull that drove her to her knees in a boulder patch and broke her back. His replacement was the one that didn;t put his weight on them when he bred them. It was a freak deal but I've seen too many bulls that are way too rough when servicing a cow.

 

[Lucky_P]

Senior herdsire here (8 yrs old) is plenty 'calving ease', so far as delivery is concerned.
However, we no longer turn virgin yearling heifers to him. Physically too large for me to feel comfortable with him servicing those 14+ mo heifers. Yes, I know there are thousands of heifers bred to mature bulls all across the globe, but...
I see a half-dozen cases through the necropsy lab (and those are just the ones that come in for necropsy) of pubertal heifers that die of peritonitis from a big aggressive mature bull breeding them, punching through the vagina and into the abdominal cavity.

 

[robert]

Thanks for the info guys!! Much appreciated...I am considering everything you have said...including low BW bulls. Will a full sized bull actually hurt these young heifers trying to breed them?

Thanks!

Tim

not if he's structurally sound he won't, my grandad always said "A gentleman takes his weight on his elbows" and the same principle is true with a bull, he should be carrying his own weight on his hind legs, if he isn't or consistently flops down on the cow he's breeding then he isn't sound enough to carry that weight and would raise questions in my mind about how functionally sound his daughters would be. We've bred heifers with mature bulls of 2400lbs no problem.