Breeding Heifers at a Lighter Weight

[IluvABbeef]

This article I found to be quite interesting, and something that may initiate opinion by some on here (posted on the other thread about the heifer that calved at a lighter wt/younger age):

You Can Breed Heifers at a Lighter Weight

The article is basically how some research has shown that breeding heifers at a lighter weight can save the feed bill, by restricting the quality (supplement) portion of the feed fed to replacements. I didn't see anything about age restriction in the article, which is a little different from the post by Djinwa, but the weight restriction part of the article is what caught my attention, and thought I would share it here to get some opinions.

 

[djinwa]

Apparently you also save feed by supporting less body mass. Those on more restricted diets grow more slowly, and take longer to achieve maximum frame and weight.

Unless I missed it, I did not see the issue of difference in calving ability. I did read no increased rebreeding time, which is indirectly related. So perhaps no more calving problems in restricted heifers.

 

[RD-Sam]

I feed the heifers less than they do, they are bred at 12 to 14 months of age and weigh 750 to 800 pounds. They are usually 5 to 5.5 frame size at a year.

 

[Boss Cowman]

mine this year were probably 600 lbs when I put the bull in and I had 1 that was about two weeks late, no opens. 60 days.