Bulls

[Anonymous]

We bought an new Angus Bull last Feb. , when we only had 33 head of cattle. This year we have doubled the herd and that was with bred heifers. Now we are in full calving and need to add another bull. Can we run 2 bulls together with this many cows in the same area or will they fight ? That puts us up at 72 head of females with the heifers we held back this last year. Thanks for any info.

 

[Jake]

Get another angus bull of similiar quality that is younger and smaller so that there won't be that many pecking order problems. They should be fine the bigger of the two will take the largest amount of females and the young one will clean them up. Winter the two bulls together the following winter and they shouldn't have too many problems the next breeding season.

 

[la4angus]

We bought an new Angus Bull last Feb. , when we only had 33 head of cattle. This year we have doubled the herd and that was with bred heifers. Now we are in full calving and need to add another bull. Can we run 2 bulls together with this many cows in the same area or will they fight ? That puts us up at 72 head of females with the heifers we held back this last year. Thanks for any info.

How old is the bull that you have now.

 

[Anonymous]

The bull we are running now is 27 months old. He has 15 calves on the ground so far in a years time. Thanks !

 

[la4angus]

The bull we are running now is 27 months old. He has 15 calves on the ground so far in a years time. Thanks !

He should be able to take of at least as many or more cows this year.
Follow the other advice and buy another younger bull to run and you should have a good calf crop.
I would buy a good growthy young bull about 16 to 18 mo. old. The two bulls should take care of the cows.

 

[Frankie]

We bought an new Angus Bull last Feb. , when we only had 33 head of cattle. This year we have doubled the herd and that was with bred heifers. Now we are in full calving and need to add another bull. Can we run 2 bulls together with this many cows in the same area or will they fight ? That puts us up at 72 head of females with the heifers we held back this last year. Thanks for any info.

They will probably fight. That's how they identify who is boss and there's always a boss. Eventually they'll sort it out and maybe separate the cows to suit themselves. But during the fighting process one of them might get hurt and not be able to breed your cows. I'd separate them if at all possible. If you can keep records as to which bull bred which cow it will also give you an idea which gives you the best calves.

 

[sillco]

Seperate out your first calf heifers and put one bull with them about a 3 or 4 weeks earilier than the rest of the cows. That way the heifers will be in sinc with the other cows the following year and you can maintaine a 60 day breeding period. This will help the bulls to get used to each other being around. The will still butt and push a little when you add the remaining herd and the other bull. It will be alright, we all have this experience.

 

[dun]

I've never cared for the idea of calving heifers earlier then the rest. In order to take advantage of the higher quality pasture that the young girls need we would have to calve the cows after the pasture has really started coming on, plus the weather is terrible the beginning of February. That puts the cows calves younger at weaning time. We've never had the problem of heifers breeding back, frequently they're among the first to calve the folowing year.
That's the reason we've done it this way in the past. By coincidence, I just read an article I believe in Beef, or maybe Drovers that questioned the traditional calving heifers early reasoning.

dun

Seperate out your first calf heifers and put one bull with them about a 3 or 4 weeks earilier than the rest of the cows. That way the heifers will be in sinc with the other cows the following year and you can maintaine a 60 day breeding period. This will help the bulls to get used to each other being around. The will still butt and push a little when you add the remaining herd and the other bull. It will be alright, we all have this experience.

 

[sillco]

Dun: A lot of things are changing. I just attended a program that encouraged having your calving season coinside with the natural season for the wild animals to bare their young. That would be when the grass is avalible in the spring. This cutts down on the cost of carrying the pair through the rest of the winter and offers a healther calf.

I is hard to keep up with all the changes, not to considering the rate of change that is taking place. Oh how I long for the simpler times.

 

[dun]

Not all changes are for the better. These new board formats for instance. Going along with natures timing would work if we were raising deer. If the breeding season gets slipped very much to allow calving in say April/May that puts breeding during the worst heat of th e summer which is also the lowest fertility for bulls and cows. That also slides calving season to the time of year that many/most farmers are doing other work.
Sounds good in theory and in some places it may be the ticket. We've adjusted calving to this time of year because this is what works for us

dun

Dun: A lot of things are changing. I just attended a program that encouraged having your calving season coinside with the natural season for the wild animals to bare their young. That would be when the grass is avalible in the spring. This cutts down on the cost of carrying the pair through the rest of the winter and offers a healther calf.

I is hard to keep up with all the changes, not to considering the rate of change that is taking place. Oh how I long for the simpler times.

 

[D.R. Cattle]

Sillco I read a similar article. The group had taken everything into consideration such as forage availability, market prices at weaning, etc. etc. When the study was finished they determined that it was actually more profitable to coincide with the natural seasons. But then, this study was conducted in Florida where our idea of bad weather is 35F and windy. Every man for himself, but the idea is worth noting. I like to calve in January but anytime by March could work just the same. Works good for breeding season and our forage is worth something when the milkers need it the most. Worming and vaccines in March and September. I can also wean and market calves before pastures go to pot.

 

[Anonymous]

I am in the process of moving our calving season back to november-december time frame. The market dictates when you calve out, heavier weights bring in more $ per animal. We have to feed hay regardless due to weather so supplemental feed cost does not play that much into the equation.

pat

 

[dun]

Very well summed up. The area and wether make so much diference, that's what some of these geniuses seem to loose sight of. I know there are ranches in the North that calve in january and february because they have less sickness problems with calves that are calved on snow rather then mud. What works in montana may not work in florida, or missouri, or the desert ofr washington state or..................
Each farmer (rancher in the west) has to figure out what works for them in their individual environment. It doesn't even have to be a vast difference in distance. We're only a couple of hundred miles from both baja oklahoma and Iowa, what works for either of them probably is't the ideal for us. The trick is figuring out what is best for your managment and envronment.
I know, babbling again

dun

Sillco I read a similar article. The group had taken everything into consideration such as forage availability, market prices at weaning, etc. etc. When the study was finished they determined that it was actually more profitable to coincide with the natural seasons. But then, this study was conducted in Florida where our idea of bad weather is 35F and windy. Every man for himself, but the idea is worth noting. I like to calve in January but anytime by March could work just the same. Works good for breeding season and our forage is worth something when the milkers need it the most. Worming and vaccines in March and September. I can also wean and market calves before pastures go to pot.

 

[Linda]

We tend to calve in late Jan/early Feb here in high altitude Utah. We call March "mud month." Going out to do calving checks while knee deep in mud is not fun - well, it feels like we're knee deep. The ground starts thawing around the first of March. This year it started the middle of Feb. Neither is it fun to watch a newborn calf trying to learn to walk in mud.

The second reason we calve so early is that we sell bulls and we do want them old enough to sell as breeders the following spring. Most of the ranchers around here put their bulls in with the cows in June. Our bulls are usually 12 to 14 months old when sold. The grass doesn't really come on here until late May/early June. For us, that's too late to be calving. We would have to hold our bulls over for a second year if we did that.

 

[Oldtimer]

Very well summed up. The area and wether make so much diference, that's what some of these geniuses seem to loose sight of. I know there are ranches in the North that calve in january and february because they have less sickness problems with calves that are calved on snow rather then mud. What works in montana may not work in florida, or missouri, or the desert ofr washington state or..................
Each farmer (rancher in the west) has to figure out what works for them in their individual environment. It doesn't even have to be a vast difference in distance. We're only a couple of hundred miles from both baja oklahoma and Iowa, what works for either of them probably is't the ideal for us. The trick is figuring out what is best for your managment and envronment.
I know, babbling again

dun


dun- You pretty well summed it up- every situation is different and everybody has to do what works best for them. The original question was about bull turnout- 2 bulls might work well for them in their situation, but with 72 head I would have at least 3 bulls especially if some were younger. Up here where the pastures are bigger and waterholes far apart most run 1 bull to every 20-30 cows. Some even go as low as 1- 15 in the big pastures, especially if they have young bulls. Bulls are usually only left with the cows 45 or 60 days, to get calving over fast, and have a uniform group of calves.

Sillco I read a similar article. The group had taken everything into consideration such as forage availability, market prices at weaning, etc. etc. When the study was finished they determined that it was actually more profitable to coincide with the natural seasons. But then, this study was conducted in Florida where our idea of bad weather is 35F and windy. Every man for himself, but the idea is worth noting. I like to calve in January but anytime by March could work just the same. Works good for breeding season and our forage is worth something when the milkers need it the most. Worming and vaccines in March and September. I can also wean and market calves before pastures go to pot.

 

[Campground Cattle]

They will fight thats what bulls do, you would be better off seperating them with their cows. Not worth the risk of injury to one of the bulls