After gleaning this board for information and insight for a couple of years, perhaps I have a contribution that may be mildly interesting.
We purchased and calved 225 first-calf heifers in early 2015. Half were black baldies from a single supplier, and generally a feedlot-like development facility. One-fourth were all black, fleshy, and beautiful from a different supplier. One fourth was a group put together at the sale barn from three different suppliers. The buyer described these as "wearing their everyday clothes". All were calved together, pastured together, and exposed to the same bulls. The mineral program was custom. Lick tubs (Breed-Up 20%) were available from 30 days before calving to the end of the breeding season. Every heifer raised a calf.
The baldies had a 90% breed back. The fleshy blacks had a 80% success in rebreeding. The salebarn blacks had a 90% breed back. I suspect there was a correlation between declining body condition and the open rate. The fleshy blacks had a more difficult time maintaining or improving body condtion than the 'everyday clothes' blacks. The baldies were a bit fleshy, but still had a better breedback.
There were 8 sets of twins calved. Of those 8 heifers that had twins (they each raised a single calf), 5 failed to breed back. This surprised me. I'm wondering if there's something about conceiving twins that causes reduced breed back.
The calving assistance was logged for each of the heifers, using the tradtional method: no assistance, easy pull, difficult pull, and C section. I had been cautioned to expect a higher open rate from those heifers that had difficulty calving. Interestingly, there was no correlation between calving difficulty and success in rebreeding.
To all who share their insight on this site, I say "Thank you" and Happy New Year.
We purchased and calved 225 first-calf heifers in early 2015. Half were black baldies from a single supplier, and generally a feedlot-like development facility. One-fourth were all black, fleshy, and beautiful from a different supplier. One fourth was a group put together at the sale barn from three different suppliers. The buyer described these as "wearing their everyday clothes". All were calved together, pastured together, and exposed to the same bulls. The mineral program was custom. Lick tubs (Breed-Up 20%) were available from 30 days before calving to the end of the breeding season. Every heifer raised a calf.
The baldies had a 90% breed back. The fleshy blacks had a 80% success in rebreeding. The salebarn blacks had a 90% breed back. I suspect there was a correlation between declining body condition and the open rate. The fleshy blacks had a more difficult time maintaining or improving body condtion than the 'everyday clothes' blacks. The baldies were a bit fleshy, but still had a better breedback.
There were 8 sets of twins calved. Of those 8 heifers that had twins (they each raised a single calf), 5 failed to breed back. This surprised me. I'm wondering if there's something about conceiving twins that causes reduced breed back.
The calving assistance was logged for each of the heifers, using the tradtional method: no assistance, easy pull, difficult pull, and C section. I had been cautioned to expect a higher open rate from those heifers that had difficulty calving. Interestingly, there was no correlation between calving difficulty and success in rebreeding.
To all who share their insight on this site, I say "Thank you" and Happy New Year.