brandonm_13
Well-known member
I was doing some research online, and ran across a partial article from a research station. It said that (on average) it takes 5 calves to pay for a cow(I always heard it was three up till then). It also said the average cow(not the best cow) only averages 6.5 calves in her lifetime. It was stating that by holding the heifers out until they were 20 months old (instead of breeding at 15 months), you could extend the average cow lifespan, and increase the number of calves to 10 or 12. I would imagine part of their figures include heifers that die during calving, are too small at the first birth and become stunted, or just do not become as sound because of the stresses put on them at that young age. I know in other species like goats, the first birthing is held off a couple of months to let the goat grow a little more. They can breed very young, but are often held off until at least a year old so they reach a more mature size. Opinions?