First calf heifer questions

[jyarbrough]

Last spring I purchased 30 heifers with due dates around last November. This is my first experience with heifers and I successfully had 27 of them to have calves in late November and December. The cows have been on decent pasture, water, minerals, and vaccinated. The bull broke free the first week of January and entered the pasture with the cows, so I left him in there.

I got a vet to come yesterday to check to see if the three cows that did not have a calf last winter were bred. They were indeed bred and we checked a large portion of the herd and identified that only about 75% of the herd were bred.

Well the neighbor farmers told me that that is common for them off of first calf heifers, with some taking almost a year before they are bred back. Is this true, or could I have bull problems. Cows are black angus mix and the bull is a 7 year old pure angus.

Thanks for replies.

 

[Isomade]

The hardest time for a cow to breed back is after the first calf. However, 75% ain't good. I would be more inclined to think it was a nutritional problem than a bull problem. How old is the bull? If he is young it could be a bull problem if he has 30 cows to service.

 

[cross_7]

Last spring I purchased 30 heifers with due dates around last November. This is my first experience with heifers and I successfully had 27 of them to have calves in late November and December. The cows have been on decent pasture, water, minerals, and vaccinated. The bull broke free the first week of January and entered the pasture with the cows, so I left him in there.

I got a vet to come yesterday to check to see if the three cows that did not have a calf last winter were bred. They were indeed bred and we checked a large portion of the herd and identified that only about 75% of the herd were bred.

Well the neighbor farmers told me that that is common for them off of first calf heifers, with some taking almost a year before they are bred back. Is this true, or could I have bull problems. Cows are black angus mix and the bull is a 7 year old pure angus.

Thanks for replies.

i'm confused the 3 that didn't calve must have been open,aborted or ? since they are bred now and you bought them a year ago. right ?
how many were checked ?
palpated or ultrasound?
if palpated how good is the vet ?
if they are light bred then he could have missed
but back to your question 1st calvers can be slow to bred back, but if they are in good condition and they don't have any problems ??? (your the only one that can see them and know about them)
from your other post i wonder if maybe they are pulled down and not cycling ?
the bull and his age(7) may be the problem but even he should have them bred in the last 6 months

 

[regolith]

If you are managing your heifers the same way your neighbours manage their heifers and they consider this normal...
then that's what you can expect.
Most would say 75% identifiably bred six months after calving and five months with a bull is an opportunity for improvement.

However, I wouldn't be checking a proportion of the herd and then presuming the others are in calf at the same rate, especially with only thirty of them. Why not have checked them all, write down the results for each individual heifer and then you know for sure?
Did you buy all thirty confirmed bred? 10% is a lot of pregnancies to lose if so. Did the vet have any comments on the situation?

 

[longhornlover3498]

i have heard that angus are slower to cycle than most of the other breeds. our heifers usually breed right back in july after their first calf. but we raise longhorn cross and black max.

 

[dun]

i have heard that angus are slower to cycle than most of the other breeds. our heifers usually breed right back in july after their first calf. but we raise longhorn cross and black max.

You always "hear" a lot of stuff, and sometimes it may even be accurate. This isn;t one of those times

 

[grubbie]

Last spring I purchased 30 heifers with due dates around last November. This is my first experience with heifers and I successfully had 27 of them to have calves in late November and December. The cows have been on decent pasture, water, minerals, and vaccinated. The bull broke free the first week of January and entered the pasture with the cows, so I left him in there.

I got a vet to come yesterday to check to see if the three cows that did not have a calf last winter were bred. They were indeed bred and we checked a large portion of the herd and identified that only about 75% of the herd were bred.

Well the neighbor farmers told me that that is common for them off of first calf heifers, with some taking almost a year before they are bred back. Is this true, or could I have bull problems. Cows are black angus mix and the bull is a 7 year old pure angus.

Thanks for replies.

Don't feed the ones that are not bred. Ship 'em. You don't need "maybe" cows in your herd. Keep the proven fertile animals.
A year before breeding back?? That is not "common" in my herd, and in my opinion that is pure b.s. Sometimes they are a little slower to start cycling again, but not that long.
Just my opinion, but I would start with the bull. 30 girls is a lot for a 7 year old bull. I would replace him. 75% conception is gonna make you broke.
Good luck!