Breeding question

[dexter]

I have a Hereford/Angus heifer - she turns a year old today. She has not started her heat cycles yet. I have a 2 year old Dexter bull and I have the two separated. Can I now put the two of them together since the heifer is a year old or should I wait? Thank you.

 

[aplusmnt]

I would not put them together until she is around 15 months of age. If she has not came in heat yet it will be any time. Would not want her to have calf till she is 24 months old.

 

[rwtherefords]

Definitely would not put the heifer with the bull yet. The earliest I have a heifer calf out is as a 2 year old. That means she gets bred when she's 15 months old. If a heifer doesn't appear to be mature enough to be bred at 15 months, I don't breed her at all. 2 - 3 years old are average ages most people use for the first calves.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

We breed our 1st calf Longhorn heifers at 14 months. Bulls are semen tested at 12-14 months and then put into service at 14 months old. No problems to date.

Another guideline is when the heifer reaches 65% of her anticipated adult weight.

 

[1848]

I would say it depends on the expected size of the animal. If she is 60% or more of her projected mature wieght, and she is sexually mature, then it is ok to breed her. Typically you want the heifer about 800 lbs to breed, but depending on the breed type/ mature size she could even be smaller. I have had heifers calve at 22 months with no problems. I have also had an 18 and 20 month old calve with no problems, but those were not planned matings. Are you sure she has not started to cycle. Is she alone or with other cattle. Sometimes lone cattle may only show restlessness, swelling of the vulva, and allot of bawling.

 

[dexter]

thanks for all the advice. She is alone and has not shown any signs of heat, bawling, restlessness, etc. I will wait another couple of months, keep an eye on her and then may be put her in with the others. Thanks again.

 

[Susie David]

Good idea, Dex....sometimes the bull being near by can trigger heat, cows with a bull around seem to come in quicker and she's real close now anyway...how fat is she? I wouldn't want any surprizes, especially with a Dexter bull on a baldy heifer.
Good luck....DMc

 

[sidney411]

I wouldn't see a problem putting a dexter bull on her now. I wouldn't put a full size breed bull on her but a 1/2 dexter calf should be quite small. We generally breed our heifers at 14-15 months.

 

[milkmaid]

I have a Hereford/Angus heifer - she turns a year old today. She has not started her heat cycles yet. I have a 2 year old Dexter bull and I have the two separated. Can I now put the two of them together since the heifer is a year old or should I wait? Thank you.

What size is she? you left that important information out.

I have here an almost-11 month old heifer that's on track to be 800+ pounds by a year, and yes, provided she's cycling she'll be exposed to a bull then. I saw a 9 month old calf this spring that was big enough to - and was - bred at that age. Calved this fall at a good 1200-1300lbs. (Not typical, of course, but with a lot of grain anything's possible.) From what I've seen, size is just as important, if not more important, than age.

 

[aplusmnt]

you might also consider getting her pelvic measured at the vet so you will know a little more about her potential calving ease.

 

[JHH]

I would put her in IF she was around 800 lbs. Chances are the bull wont breed her right away and then you will be at 22 months shouldn't have problems. I have been putting my heifers in at 1 yr old and havent had any problems yet and they havent given me a calf till they were 24 months. I have done 6 that way but they were big enough in my opionion.JHH

 

[Beef11]

Three things are needed for puberty to set in 1 threshold body size 2 Age 3 social cues. In my opinion you should try to calve out your heifers before their 2nd birthday hopefully about a month before the rest of the herd. This gives them an extra month to get ready to breed back which is difficult on first calf heifers for a couple reasons 1 she lactating 2 she is still growing 3 she is losing her baby teeth so it is harder for her to eat.

It is to your advantage to breed her a little earlier.