breeding a heifer on first heat

[Farmgirl]

We have a 15 month old limousin heifer that is 65% of her mature weight, so size isn't a problem. As far as we know she hasn't cycled yet. Has heat watch on for over 2 weeks, running with gomer bull for 6 weeks or more now. What do you think about breeding a heifer like this on her first cycle? We will be AIing her.

Thanks,
Farmgirl

 

[franseen]

Farmgirl. We breed our Limousin heifers on first heat. It seems to work alright for us. Have you tried to synchronize your heifers? I don't know how many you have, but we have used the ciders to synchronize with good success. We have a small herd and synchronize 12-15 at one time. As long as your heifer wasn't born a free-martin or has reproductive troubles she should come in heat anytime. Just out of curiosity. Who do you plan to breed her to? Good luck with her. If you have questions on synchronization I would be more than happy to help.

 

[Farmgirl]

We will be breeding her to Mags Kaboom. The heifer is a daughter of ROMN Justice and a grandaughter of Gentleman in Black. We are hoping for a red heifer.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[jerry27150]

some of those limis don't come into heat til they are older

 

[Marian]

We have a 15 month old limousin heifer that is 65% of her mature weight, so size isn't a problem. As far as we know she hasn't cycled yet. Has heat watch on for over 2 weeks, running with gomer bull for 6 weeks or more now. What do you think about breeding a heifer like this on her first cycle? We will be AIing her.

Thanks,
Farmgirl

From my past experiences of AIing, and experimenting as well.. I found it usefull to syncronize my heifers one cycle ahead of schedule. Dont plan to breed them, but watch. If a heifer hasnt cycled yet, she will not cycle on the syncronizing shot, then this means you will need to just wait for her, and breeding her on her first cycle will work some times. Some of the larger breeds of cattle do take alittle longer time to mature.... When the next cycle is dued, being I had forced my batch of females to cycle last month, they will recycle closely together, I then breed without syncronizing, increasing my conceiption rate as well..

 

[Marian]

......., but we have used the ciders to synchronize with good success. We have a small herd and synchronize 12-15 at one time. ..... If you have questions on synchronization I would be more than happy to help.

Franseen...I have been out of AIing for 15 yrs now. Can you please explain to me what [ciders to synchronize] mean? I am sure I am really outdated with the up to date methods of breeding cattle....Thank you.

 

[jt]

franseen... what is the average age of your limo heifers when you first ai them, and what percent settle on that first ai?

thanks

jt

 

[franseen]

Sorry guys. I have been missing this post. Let me get back to you on how the whole ciders thing works. (I read the package each year.) Let me get to you later on that. I can tell you though they work great for us. We use them on our cows and usually get about 90% conception. That may seem crazy, but my dad does most of the AI work and he is pretty great. Our cows seem to have good fleshing ability also so even if they do milk good they don't get to stressed. On heifers for first conception we usually get about from 70 to 85 percent conception. We calf heifers earlier than cows and so if we catch them on the first heat without synchronizing them we breed then. If the heifers are growthy enough we breed at 13 months to 15 months of age. However we look at size with much more scrutiny than age. We don't want to stunt growth during their first lactation. When picking bulls we look at the scrotal circumference epd with a lot of consideration. The Limousin breed need improvement in that area. Scrotal circumference epds don't only tell you how well a bull's bull calves will grow testicles. It also is a good factor to improve age at which heifers will reach puberty. Limousin heifers have been known for late puberty in the past. It is something we are trying to improve on.

 

[franseen]

Farmgirl,
How do you like your calves out of the ROMN Justice bull? I talked to Herman Symens who owns Limi Gene. He seems to think the is a great bull. Have you breed any heifers to Mags Kaboom yet? Have they calved? His birth weight epd is in the top 40% of the breed. His Calving Ease Direct epd is in the top 60% of the breed. I have seen some great calves out of him. He should be ok on heifers. Especially out of Justice. Just watch him. If you need any ideas on a different bull let me know. I could get some info on who they have been breeding Justice daughters to. Kabooms milk epd should compiment Justice's well. Anyway let me know how it goes. I am happy to hear you aren't caught up in the "black rush". Black calves are great, but I like to see those red calves too. Good luck.

 

[franseen]

marian,
With the ciders we insert them once heifers are the right size to breed and are old enough to cycle. If you haven't ever used ciders contact a vet. They should have them. Insert them into the vagina. You'll see how they work. At day six (i beleive) give them a shot of lutalyse. It says on the package how much. Use a long needle. We then put Kamar patches on the cows tailhead for added heat detection. Take them out at day seven and breed at when they show heat. Like you would if they show heat regularly. They should show heat within 24 to 48 hours. We breed the first time around. I checked our numbers from the last 3 years. We have averaged 91% conception on heifers and 94% on cows. Like I said before. My dad is quite the AI techinician. He bred our dairy cattle for 20 years, does all our beef cattle (about 60 head), and AI's about three hundred dairy heifers a year for our neighbors. That keeps me from doing too much AI work. Semen is pretty costly if you don't know what you are doing. Compared to him I lack technique and practice. Good luck. Let me know if I should clarify.

 

[Farmgirl]

If you need any ideas on a different bull let me know. I could get some info on who they have been breeding Justice daughters to.

Franseen,

What info do you have on red bulls to compliment ROMN Justice heifers? I talked to Herman too. He is big on Justice. Treftzs are using Wulfs Guardian on Justice heifers with good results.

Farmgirl

 

[franseen]

One bull I have heard a lot of good things about is OKLF Linebacker 341L. He is owned by Running Creek Ranch in Elizabeth CO. I talked to some folks who saw his calves in Denver at the stock show. They had nothing but good to say about him. He is out of Vord Halfback a Quarterback son. His dam is Wulf's Esther a Rambler daughter. He has great calving ease, growth and a very high ribeye epd. Here are his epds. CED 18 BW -2.4 WW 63 YW 108 MA 13 SC .3 DC 10 CW 30 REA .76 YG -.15 MS -.01.
I think his milk epd leaves something to be desired, so does the milk epd of Justice. But that is my opinion. The accuracies on his bw is .79 so he is pretty proven calving ease. Semen is $30. We don't plan to use him, but we have a lot of Rambler and a good amount of Halfback in our herd. Just an idea for you. I like the Kaboom bull and have seen some good calves from him. I like how he compliments Justice too. In my opinion his calving ease just makes me nervous. I will check on some more bulls also. Out of curiosity where are you out of? Good luck with your heifer.

 

[Farmgirl]

Kabooms CE EPD is marginal. The heifer will probably be 1200 pounds when she calves so I think she will be ok. Especially if it is a heifer. We may ultrasound her at 63-75 days to get the sex of the calf.

I have looked at the Linebacker bull. His milk epd is too low for this heifer. She is a 15. Also, his birthweight is 90 pounds. That makes me nervous. I don't care what his epds are.

This is the only Justice heifer we have. Bought her from a nearby breeder last year. Don't have any calves from Kaboom yet. btw...we are in Texas, south east.

Farmgirl

 

[polledbull]

I bought some Justice last week from my ABS rep. They carry him now . He is also homo polled. We own the BGRT Proper Choice bull , give him some consideration if you want to add milk and scrotal and YW to your heifers.
Howard Bros. Farms

 

[polledbull]

We have a 15 month old limousin heifer that is 65% of her mature weight, so size isn't a problem. As far as we know she hasn't cycled yet. no Has heat watch on for over 2 weeks, running with gomer bull for 6 weeks or more w. What do you think about breeding a heifer like this on her first cycle? We will be AIing her.

Thanks,
Farmgirl

hello we are dealers for HeatWatch here in NC, SC ,and VA . Glad to hear somebody on here is using the best heat detection system on the planet besides me . Do you think the heifer could already be bred, accident maybe ?? just a thought . I would think at 15 months she would be cycling.

 

[Farmgirl]

Polled Bull,

Your bull is nice but we want a red calf. Nice bull nonetheless.

Our heifer should be cycling any time. She is currently on a university forage program. The last 28 day period she gained 96 pounds. The girl is packing on the weight.

University is using heat watch on all the heifers (almost 100) in the program.

 

[Caustic Burno]

We have a 15 month old limousin heifer that is 65% of her mature weight, so size isn't a problem. As far as we know she hasn't cycled yet. Has heat watch on for over 2 weeks, running with gomer bull for 6 weeks or more now. What do you think about breeding a heifer like this on her first cycle? We will be AIing her.

Thanks,
Farmgirl

15 months old and hasn't cycled Cow Flop! If she hasn't cyled at that age you need to give her a ride to Mc Donalds.
But then again its a Limi I guess the fleas come with the dog.

 

[Farmgirl]

Some people have ALL the answers.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Some people will feed a dud cow that hasn't cycled by 15 months are keeping pets and are not ranching. Get a fox terrier!
First rule for hobby farmers wanting to be cattlemen learn to cull.

 

[franseen]

Farmgirl do your best to ignore him. Don't let him ruin this thread.