Taking all other factors out at what age do you consider culling? Basically if they have been productive, good feet, etc... Lost a good cow this we that we kept for what one of the local vets calls " The one more calf syndrome". She was one my daughter bought to show while still in high school, been a good cow and liked having a gentle cow around.
Culling by age?
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Lee VanRoss
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As long as they calve within the 1st or 2nd cycle they stay. If she is late or misses she gets ugly fast.
Silver
Well-known member
I like to keep the herd young and saleable at all times. I feel that gives me options. I keep my own replacements, but my herd is young enough that in a crunch I could sell nearly all my heifer calves and only sell the open cows and no pencil culls one year. It might be a false sense of security but it helps me sleep at night.
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
I used to cull when they came in with a below average calf. This usually means they are calving late and/or not able to milk as much. This timing varies with breed and cow size and pasture productivity. Often 7 to 9 years old for my big beef crosses on improved pastures. Brimmers could be in the 20s...
One dimensional bean counters say you should be selling all cows at 5 to 6 years old.
An optimizer would look at gross margin and where we are in the cattle price cycle. Look up Greg Halich' optimum stocking rate tables. He is very good.
One dimensional bean counters say you should be selling all cows at 5 to 6 years old.
An optimizer would look at gross margin and where we are in the cattle price cycle. Look up Greg Halich' optimum stocking rate tables. He is very good.
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simme
Old Dumb Guy
Costs a lot to keep a heifer until her first calf. Replacing all your cows at 5 or 6 years old causes you to incur more of those costs. I don't think there is really a correct answer to this question. But, keep one too long and the wrong answer can be quickly apparent. Sort of like "When should I replace this truck?". Very expensive to do that too early. But when the transmission or engine give up, the correct answer is apparent - Last year. Just got to use your judgement in each case, roll the dice and live with the good and bad. I am no help on this one.
Dave
Well-known member
In August...... however the whole herd mostly old but some young were bought with that in mind.
Age is relative. I cull based on: open, bad feet, bad udder, not maintaining condition, whether she still raises a good calf, whether she's falling behind/calves late, nasty attitude & on my vet's recommendation (something's wrong - sell as butcher now).
OP
OP
tom4018
Dumb Old Farmer
If all else is good, how old is too old? Wondering if we pushed out luck too much? Evidently we did but this cow had some sentimental value since my daughter showed her. I know it wasn't the most profitable decision.
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
10
Silver
Well-known member
Depends on where you live. Folks in hard grass / sandy ground tell me 7 is an old cow (teeth gone).
Right now I have a very few W cows as my oldest. They get to retire this fall. So 12. But I do know of people around here keeping them into their late teens.
Right now I have a very few W cows as my oldest. They get to retire this fall. So 12. But I do know of people around here keeping them into their late teens.
I sold a bred 13 year old earlier this year. Hated to because she was still doing pretty well, but losing condition and didn't even have hair on the back of her ears anymore (winters are brutal for her). I'll be darned if she didn't sell as bred instead of butcher. There are a couple of my girls that have earned the right to die here. With the sentimental value of your cow, "profitable" is subjective
bird dog
Well-known member
Calving on time and raising an average calf will keep them around regardless of the age. I have a couple that are smooth mouth and stay a little thinner but are still doing their job so why sell them for the $400 the packers might give for them. They will raise a calf that will bring $800.
I have one mixed breed (Sim cross I think) that will be 16 next week. She is raising her 14th calf. I saw her come into heat and get bred to stay on schedule. She has not had teeth for years but you really can't tell it by looking at her. I have three Brangus baldies that are 14 from a group of 6 bred heifers that I bought in 2008. All of these would go if conditions got real bad but I know what I have with them and the worse that can happen for them would be to die in the pasture and cost me $400.
They will usually let you know when they are done. by not coming into heat on time or raising a poor calf.
I have one mixed breed (Sim cross I think) that will be 16 next week. She is raising her 14th calf. I saw her come into heat and get bred to stay on schedule. She has not had teeth for years but you really can't tell it by looking at her. I have three Brangus baldies that are 14 from a group of 6 bred heifers that I bought in 2008. All of these would go if conditions got real bad but I know what I have with them and the worse that can happen for them would be to die in the pasture and cost me $400.
They will usually let you know when they are done. by not coming into heat on time or raising a poor calf.
At 13-15 I start keeping a pretty close eye. I like to sell them while they will still get fat and shiny. If I do that and sell them they will bring $1200+ dollars. If I wait and they start showing some age it can turn to $900, $700, or $400 real fast. Selling at a good salvage price makes more money than squeezing out a few extra calves, every time.
You can see if a retained heifer or bought cow costs $1000-1250 to put in production and you sell her for $1200+ she literally made you money right up to the last day. If she cost you $1200 and sold for $600, or worse died, her original cost gets tacked on to every calf she ever raised which could put $20, 50 or 100 on. That's all the profit some years.
You can see if a retained heifer or bought cow costs $1000-1250 to put in production and you sell her for $1200+ she literally made you money right up to the last day. If she cost you $1200 and sold for $600, or worse died, her original cost gets tacked on to every calf she ever raised which could put $20, 50 or 100 on. That's all the profit some years.
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Plus, if I sell them early the market stays up. Every time I try to squeeze a few more years out we get a drought and market crash. 
Most are gone here by 8 to 10. We cull for opens, lates and the odd foot but find when they reach 8 their udder tend to get lower slung or teats a bit bigger and we have to mess with helping a calf to suck. 10% is too many.
We sell a few of these as breds to smaller operators every year, everybody has been happy with them to date. If they are an absolute cull they go to the kill pen.
We sell a few of these as breds to smaller operators every year, everybody has been happy with them to date. If they are an absolute cull they go to the kill pen.
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
10
farmerjan
Well-known member
Age is down on my list of culling reasons. ATTITUDE and CONDITION are first..... raising a good calf and keeping on weight.......breeding back on time. Udder and teats..... Smooth mouth is not a big concern if they look good and they are milking good so the calf looks good......feet and legs are important.....
Most of our older cows will come up open, and that is the number one reason to ship , after we preg check, when we ship the calf....then there is watching how they walk and get around..... that affects their condition too.
There have been a couple that have raised some awesome calves that were allowed to go 18 months between their last couple of calves......just gave them a little longer break between calves because they have more than paid for themselves. Yes, it is sentiment, but it costs enough to raise up a heifer that losing 6 months is worth it on a few. No we don't do it for all of them, just a few that have proven themselves.
We have many that are 10-12 that have put some real nice calves on the ground for the last couple of years.... using the same bulls overall....
We also try to calve the "old cows" in the spring so they have a little less stress on their system and making milk and all things combined.....
Buried a few that we kept for "one more calf" but we gambled .... just made the decision to sell one that we have that is behind about 60 days of the her group. She was a kept heifer and has served us well for 12 or 13 years. No teeth. She will calve in May instead of March, she will go to a pasture where there will not be a bull so she can't get bred back, with any other cows we have earmarked to sell after they raise their calf. She will get the summer to raise her calf and eat good and in the fall she will go with any other cows there. If she has a heifer, we will evaluate keeping it as a replacement. As a rule we have 4-8 that we earmark to go to that pasture every year as their last summer......
Most of our older cows will come up open, and that is the number one reason to ship , after we preg check, when we ship the calf....then there is watching how they walk and get around..... that affects their condition too.
There have been a couple that have raised some awesome calves that were allowed to go 18 months between their last couple of calves......just gave them a little longer break between calves because they have more than paid for themselves. Yes, it is sentiment, but it costs enough to raise up a heifer that losing 6 months is worth it on a few. No we don't do it for all of them, just a few that have proven themselves.
We have many that are 10-12 that have put some real nice calves on the ground for the last couple of years.... using the same bulls overall....
We also try to calve the "old cows" in the spring so they have a little less stress on their system and making milk and all things combined.....
Buried a few that we kept for "one more calf" but we gambled .... just made the decision to sell one that we have that is behind about 60 days of the her group. She was a kept heifer and has served us well for 12 or 13 years. No teeth. She will calve in May instead of March, she will go to a pasture where there will not be a bull so she can't get bred back, with any other cows we have earmarked to sell after they raise their calf. She will get the summer to raise her calf and eat good and in the fall she will go with any other cows there. If she has a heifer, we will evaluate keeping it as a replacement. As a rule we have 4-8 that we earmark to go to that pasture every year as their last summer......
coachg
Well-known member
I asked an older gentleman that one time . He wasn't interested in the dollar cents aspect of raising cattle . He had several older gals that were still raising a decent calf .. I said that old gal is showing her age isn't she ? Yes , she's 17-18 and has raised me 15-16 calves . And she doesn't deserve going to no sale barn . If she died tomorrow I'd bury her over there next to the woods . And I would miss her .
crossbredcalves
Well-known member
I culled three cows this year. One was a young cow that was actually ahead of the rest of her group, but she got to where she was traveling, so she grew wheels. The other two were older cows that were bred back, but both were starting to show their age. The day we got them up to sell, they both jumped out once and tore down a gate. By the time I dropped them at the sale barn, I was glad to see them go.
