calving seasons when and why?
- Thread starter mds
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
A
Anonymous
We are in the same boat here in Tx as far as the weather. I personally like to start our calving in late November and run though December into early January. The reasoning behind this is two fold. First, the calves are born before the cold rainy part of our winter and have a chance to get some age on them before that time of year gets here. Second, the calves after being weaned are ready to go to rye pastures in the fall. Thus in this area there is a ready market for the calves
JPO":3ckk0d95 said:
we are also in similar environmental conditions here in so-central tx. we start a.i.'ing in jan & then turn the bulls out mid-march. this puts the majority of our calves being born between christmas & the end of feb. we wean in aug for a 205 day weaning pd. we prefer the "spring" calving season to the "fall" calving season because it seems prices are usually a little higher aug-oct vs june-aug (which would be the 205 day age from the fall season). and although the calves are born during some cold weather, they're really taking off & hitting that growth spurt early to mid spring when things are greening up & the grass is taking off as well. we do not have any calves born in the summer. w/summer-born calves in so-central tx, you're just asking for probs: a major one is fire ants.
one personal disadvantage of a.i.'ing in jan & feb is that this is when the cows are on rye grass.........anyone grazing rye or oats in the winter can probably understand!
D.R. Cattle
Well-known member
Caca?
A
Anonymous
Dad had an all year long calving season for years. I am trying to move it back to late fall and early winter. The season helps us to avoid the spring mud and scour season. If I can get more of the cows back into november/december time frame I usually can avoid the sub zero temps also. The farm management is a work in progress. We are always trying new things to see if they can help with the work load and the bottom line.
pat
pat
We calve late Feb through somtimes early April but usually we're done by the end of March. The calves are just getting to the size that they can take advantage of the spring flush. Breeding in winter is too cold for this old man. The calves have also picked up the knack of picking at hay from a bale feeder so it's no trick to bunk break them when we wean.
dun
dun
Oldtimer
Well-known member
Up here near the Canadian border most don't start calving until the middle of March or first part of April and calve through May. Still have the chance of spring snowstorms well into May.
A
Anonymous
In southern Illinois, we are on year round grazing as long as there is no snow or ice on the ground. We calve from mid-March through April. With being out on pasture and therefore out of the mud, we seem to have very good luck keeping the calves healthy and especially scour free. Also, this way we only have to keep them one winter to finish them out, compared to two winters with fall calving.
D.R. Cattle
Well-known member
Cold weather plays zero role in calving season down here (FLA) If you sod seed some rye or clover for the cooler months, peak grazing doesn't matter either. Biggest problem is staying away from July, August, September calving if you can cause it's hotter than hedes. Too much rain and insects are a problem also. January-February is all me. I like to work them in April and turn the bulls back in. Work them again and sell calves in September before citrus season gets too busy.
