cows ability to be bred back

[Toothacre]

Will cows go back into their cycle,and can be bred,if they are still nursing?
If the goal in a cow-calf operation is to get one calf per year per cow, does that mean all calves have to be weaned by 3 months so the momma cow can be bred for the next calf?

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

Most cows cycle in 45 to 60 days after calving. Nursing cows should cycle, and all of our calves are typically weaned at 7 months and the cows are already bred at least 4 months, most 5 or a bit more. We strive to have cows producing the same month or earlier than the previous year.

 

[M5farm]

They should breed back their first or second cycle after they calve. Most will wean at 6mths if all is normal.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

I leave bulls in with my cows every day of the year, my cows calve about every 11 months, some a little longer and some as little as 10 months.

I try to wean everything at 6 to 7 months old.

 

[Toothacre]

Great Info!
Thanks for the help,

 

[Backbone Ranch]

We calve in March and put the bulls in on May 15. We wean our calves at 7-8 months. Our cows drop a little weight while they have the big calves on them, but they are quick to regain their body condition.

 

[dun]

The main things that govern if a cow breeds back are difficulty of calving, body condition and nutritional plane. Others thing that can affect it is the weather and fertility of the animal. I'm sure there are others but those would be the biggies as far as I'm concerned.
It's kind of like my neices that are only 10 months apart, their mother believed that as long as she was breast feeding she couldn;t get pregnant.

 

[backhoeboogie]

I leave bulls in with my cows every day of the year, my cows calve about every 11 months, some a little longer and some as little as 10 months.

Same here. My number 38 was born in the fall of '03. Had her first calf in '05 and has backed up about 6 weeks every year until last year when she back up about 3 weeks. For instanced she calved 12/16/09, 11/4/10, 9/12/11, 7/27/12 and 7/4/13. I have to go to a different spread she to get her total history. Mortality is even better. I have never lost a calf out of her. Wish the whole herd was like her.

I have had a few older ones that used to calve every 11 months or so have a 13 month cycle. Some go back to less than a year and others stay at about a year.

 

[SRBeef]

I leave bulls in with my cows every day of the year, my cows calve about every 11 months, some a little longer and some as little as 10 months.

Same here. My number 38 was born in the fall of '03. Had her first calf in '05 and has backed up about 6 weeks every year until last year when she back up about 3 weeks. For instanced she calved 12/16/09, 11/4/10, 9/12/11, 7/27/12 and 7/4/13. I have to go to a different spread she to get her total history. Mortality is even better. I have never lost a calf out of her. Wish the whole herd was like her.

I have had a few older ones that used to calve every 11 months or so have a 13 month cycle. Some go back to less than a year and others stay at about a year.

That sounds like a cow to keep a bull calf from to spread the good genetics around. Impressive.

A cows number 1 job is to have a a calf every year on the same day at least. She is doing her job.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Nice when they bred back every year after 11 or 12 months .
How do you approach the ones that bred back after 13 or 14 months?

 

[NC Liz 2]

Nice when they bred back every year after 11 or 12 months .
How do you approach the ones that bred back after 13 or 14 months?

I cull any cow that does not breed back in 60 days.
That way about every 5th year I get 2 calf crops in one calender year.
To me an open cow for over 60 days is not living up to her full potential.

Body condition score (BCS) of beef cows at the time of calving has the greatest impact on subsequent rebreeding performance (Table 1). The postpartum interval is the length of time from calving to first estrus (heat) after calving. For a cow to maintain a 365 day calving interval, she must rebreed by 82 days after calving (283 day gestation + 82 day postpartum interval = 365 days). On the average, cows that calve in a BCS 3 or 4 have difficulty exhibiting their first heat by 80 days after calving. Whereas cows that calve in BCS 5 or 6 tend to exhibit heat by 55 days after calving and; therefore, have a better opportunity to maintain a 365 day calving interval. Although cows that calve in a BCS of 7 have a short postpartum interval, it is not economical to feed cows to a condition score of 7.

http://beef.unl.edu/web/beef/learning/condition1a.shtml
Liz

 

[fitz]

Nice when they bred back every year after 11 or 12 months .
How do you approach the ones that bred back after 13 or 14 months?

Depends on a lot of variables. But any of mine that go over that year mark on the next calf go to the thin ice watch list.

fitz

 

[SRBeef]

Nice when they bred back every year after 11 or 12 months .
How do you approach the ones that bred back after 13 or 14 months?

I cull any cow that does not breed back in 60 days.
That way about every 5th year I get 2 calf crops in one calender year.
To me an open cow for over 60 days is not living up to her full potential.

Body condition score (BCS) of beef cows at the time of calving has the greatest impact on subsequent rebreeding performance (Table 1). The postpartum interval is the length of time from calving to first estrus (heat) after calving. For a cow to maintain a 365 day calving interval, she must rebreed by 82 days after calving (283 day gestation + 82 day postpartum interval = 365 days). On the average, cows that calve in a BCS 3 or 4 have difficulty exhibiting their first heat by 80 days after calving. Whereas cows that calve in BCS 5 or 6 tend to exhibit heat by 55 days after calving and; therefore, have a better opportunity to maintain a 365 day calving interval. Although cows that calve in a BCS of 7 have a short postpartum interval, it is not economical to feed cows to a condition score of 7.

http://beef.unl.edu/web/beef/learning/condition1a.shtml
Liz

Thank you for the information and link. Folks keep telling me my cows are too fat. This morning the temperature (no wind chill) was -10 degrees F. With the windchill it was -31 degrees F. Those girls need all the fuel they can get right now. I believe under their thick winter coats they are mostly a BCS 6. A few of the first calf heifers look more like a 5.

Here is a picture from my tractor after putting out silage in the wagon yesterday. They were all vying for space on the downwind side as the wind was blowing right to left at about 20 mph when I took the picture and the temp about -5 F.

I will add a picture of the rest of the girls who decided to hang out at the hay shed to stay out of the wind.

I like their condition for this time of year. They should start calving in late April.

My criteria is the clock starts ticking when the first calf is born. I what them all to calve in 45 days after that (2 cycles) or they go on the "watch list" for culling.

Thanks again,

Jim

 

[dun]

I too like the girls to carry a little fat in the winter. I like enough back fat that the snow doesn;t melt on them.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Nice when they bred back every year after 11 or 12 months .
How do you approach the ones that bred back after 13 or 14 months?

If she goes 13 months between calves, I check her teeth at the next working, when she is in a head gate. If an older gal starts losing BCS while nursing, I check her teeth too. Generally speaking if a cows teeth hold out, it is productive for me to keep her, even if she goes over. Just can't afford to have her go over year after year.

With all of the recent culling, my oldest cows are 11 years and their teeth are in good shape. There are three that age. No 10 year olds but a couple of 9 year olds.

 

[backhoeboogie]

You have some nice looking cows SRB.

If I lived in a harsh winter climate, I would not be calving year round.

 

[SRBeef]

You have some nice looking cows SRB.

If I lived in a harsh winter climate, I would not be calving year round.

Thank you. No, you certainly don't want to be calving year around in these weather conditions. Some folks in the Dakotas have an indoor calving barn where they bring in cows that are about to calve in Jan and Feb. but that is a lot of work and you sure don't want to miss one.

If a cow calves on her own right now in the woods or pastures as mine do that calf is not going to live due to hypothermia. I moved calving back a few weeks this year to start the last week in April rather than April 1. Most calves should be hitting green grass the first week in May or so.

Jim

 

[Bigfoot]

14 months is my cutoff for keeping one. It's less than ideal, but I think it is cheaper than raising her replacement. If you really think about it, it's just like losing one calf every 5 years. I probably should rethink my policy.

 

[regolith]

With a three month calving season, any cow that averages 13 months is gone in three years.
It does, however, give cows that fluctuate between 14 and 10 month intervals a chance to live a long life. This is a common pattern for heavy milkers in my herd.
I've been going with the condition that the cows get four chances (12 weeks) from the start of mating, but that any cow getting in calf in that last cycle is only going to stay in the herd if her performance is above average - so poorer cows are an automatic cull if they don't conceive in the first sixty days.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

The main things that govern if a cow breeds back are difficulty of calving, body condition and nutritional plane. Others thing that can affect it is the weather and fertility of the animal. I'm sure there are others but those would be the biggies as far as I'm concerned.
It's kind of like my neices that are only 10 months apart, their mother believed that as long as she was breast feeding she couldn;t get pregnant.

Ha! Breast feeding was great birth control for me! I nursed all three kids, and did not cycle until I weaned them (all three were nursed for at least 14 months).