First calf heifers are done.

[Black and Good]

Well,after it not going very well my first calf heifers are done. Had my last one yesterday evening. Out of 9 first calf heifers never had to pull a one.But, lost 4 of them due to weather slop,one was premature and died at a month old??. At no fault to the heifers IMO. So, I guess I'll keep them. I've already got this much invested. I just hope I can keep them from getting to fat on me. Do you agree on my thinking bout keeping them. The way I look at it is I'd rather have them as a new bunch of heifers? :tiphat: B&G

 

[back2dfuture]

I lost a Heifer calf today.... & debating on keeping her... Momma is standing watch

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

We were extremely blessed I suppose. We purchased 15 bred heifers last fall and now have 14 healthy and active calves on the ground. not a single pull or any issues whatsoever. In January one of them appeared to have a miscarriage but she's fine and hopefully has been re-bred by now.

 

[bcarty]

Just a thought, but anything without a calf will be costing you money a lot longer than selling her an buying something that will have a calf sooner. Market prices are good. If it was me I would offload anything without a calf at side and replace them now with either a heifer pair or a bred heifer due to calve soon or with your next group of calves. Just my opinion!!

 

[ousoonerfan22]

We've had first calf heifers lose a calf at birth and usually give them a second chance,most have turned out to be good cows.We did haul off two young heifers that were bought cheap at the sale barn 1+ old and 4 months bred....lesson learned! Both ended up being hard pulls with one calf alive and one dead and had to give shots of Dex on both heifers.No wonder they ran through the sale at $400 a head,this was about five years ago before the prices went up.

 

[Black and Good]

Just a thought, but anything without a calf will be costing you money a lot longer than selling her an buying something that will have a calf sooner. Market prices are good. If it was me I would offload anything without a calf at side and replace them now with either a heifer pair or a bred heifer due to calve soon or with your next group of calves. Just my opinion!!

Thanks everyone for your input. I do agree with them costing money to keep. But,my thinking was, they all calved without help,I know what I have + I already have all the feed and time invested. Knowing my luck if I sold them and bought something else it would backfire in my face. Thanks again B&G :tiphat:

 

[AllForage]

Well,after it not going very well my first calf heifers are done. Had my last one yesterday evening. Out of 9 first calf heifers never had to pull a one.But, lost 4 of them due to weather slop,one was premature and died at a month old??. At no fault to the heifers IMO. So, I guess I'll keep them. I've already got this much invested. I just hope I can keep them from getting to fat on me. Do you agree on my thinking bout keeping them. The way I look at it is I'd rather have them as a new bunch of heifers? :tiphat: B&G

calving a month or two later would have saved those calves and your investments

 

[Black and Good]

Well,after it not going very well my first calf heifers are done. Had my last one yesterday evening. Out of 9 first calf heifers never had to pull a one.But, lost 4 of them due to weather slop,one was premature and died at a month old??. At no fault to the heifers IMO. So, I guess I'll keep them. I've already got this much invested. I just hope I can keep them from getting to fat on me. Do you agree on my thinking bout keeping them. The way I look at it is I'd rather have them as a new bunch of heifers? :tiphat: B&G

calving a month or two later would have saved those calves and your investments

I agree. But,the reason I A.I.ed them that early was because I wanted them to recoop and be able to breed back and fall in with the older cows. In the past, I've waited to A.I. and some have ended up being fall calvers which I don't want. Live and learn I guess. Heifers are just a headache. But, a necessary evil! :tiphat:

 

[Nesikep]

A couple notes I have from my observations... cows that calf way too early, are likely to do it again... We had one miscarry at about 7-8 months 3 times in a row, twins each time... We only kept her for the second and third times because both time we had a calf that needed a momma and she took it.

Secondly, if you're having problems with rebreeding and the cows don't look hungry, get a mineral workup done on them. I had one cow who'd breed back well ONLY if she was exposed to the bull very soon after calving. She was a particularly heavy milker, so I figured she was "running low" on something by milking, even though she was fat... In my case, she was really low on Phosphorus, Selenium, and Copper. I've adjusted my salt rations now and except for a chronic straggler (she's never been on time in her life), I'm at 80% on the first cycle and the remainder on the second. We've culled a lot of cows for being late, when perhaps they weren't properly nourished.

I think I'd lean toward culling this one... If grass is plentiful for you, perhaps in the early fall as a bred cow?