Brandonm2":1m4cx6jn said:(and you better descide whether to sell them next month or start feeding them supplement to catch them back up)
all4athena":1eqhbnjz said:i like to start breeding my heifs at 2 years of age so they won't get dystocia, or not breed back again. just some food for thought ;-)
dun":fmjk4kfh said:all4athena":fmjk4kfh said:i like to start breeding my heifs at 2 years of age so they won't get dystocia, or not breed back again. just some food for thought ;-)
That's one school of thought. We calve our heifers at 23-25 months, no dystocia, acceptable weaning weights and frequently they're the first to calve the following year.
Selection criteria for both the heifers and the bull they are bred to and proper nutrition are the most important factors (in my opinion).
dun
Ditto here too. You cannot afford to lose 1 year waiting to breed them at 2 years old. If properly fed, and time spent on sire selection, there should not be ANY dystocia calfing out 2 year old heifers.dun":2yduz6q1 said:all4athena":2yduz6q1 said:i like to start breeding my heifs at 2 years of age so they won't get dystocia, or not breed back again. just some food for thought ;-)
That's one school of thought. We calve our heifers at 23-25 months, no dystocia, acceptable weaning weights and frequently they're the first to calve the following year.
Selection criteria for both the heifers and the bull they are bred to and proper nutrition are the most important factors (in my opinion).
dun
If a 600# weaned heifer only gained 100++ # over 160 days, I would question the producer's ability to raise cattle on any feed. Good hay, ryegrass & whole cottonseed should give you a 2# gain on a 600# healthy weaned calf.Feeding heifers to gain 2# a day is very do-able. No, you probably will not get them to gain properly without feeding them grain. And Chester, you will not "mess up that heifer" if you use the 1% - 3% formula I gave you in earlier post. This is VERY standard feeding practice, to keep the animals healthy & growing. You can always decrease if you think they are laying on FAT - you do not want them to get FAT, meaning fat deposits around tail head & in the udder.
wean off the mama at 600 lbs and you can get to 700++ over the winter with just good hay, ryegrass and a little whole cottonseed
For Chester's heifers to weigh 685 by April 30 they need to gain 285 pounds or 1.6 lbs per day, which is very ambitious.
Jeanne - Simme Valley":2z9i0uii said:Well, we are on two totally different pages when it comes to size. A 685# weight is a GOOD weaning weight - not a good YEARLING WEIGHT.
Jersey Lilly - We always feed cottonseed & corn, but have never even heard of rice bran. Our ration would include oats, so rice bran must be similar in feed value to oats. Did you feed 10# from beginning to end or averaged 10#/hd/day? And I totally believe in feeding free choice hay. The more hay they eat, the more they can digest the grain you give them.10 lbs each of a rice bran 15%,cotton seed 25%, corn mixture 60%. Plus free access to hay, and what grass was in their 3 acre pasture.