heifer breeding back

[herofan]

I was recently having small talk with a local farmer about what weight i should sell my calves. He said when a heifer had a calf, he went more by age than weight, due to heifers often not breeding back until the calf is taken away. Is that true? If so, that certainly puts a monkey wrench in my plans.

 

[Anonymous]

It's often hard to get a first time heifer to breed back. She's raising a calf, still growing herself, and breeding is last on her bodies list of priorities.
You can trick her body by pulling the calf for 48hrs. It does work. Or you could make sure her plane of nutrition is as good as possible for your situation. I would suggest the latter as long as its cost effective for you and meets your goals

 

[dun]

For the first time in a long time we had a first calver fail to breed back. We weaned her calf at 140 days and she had lost 148 days scine she had calved. It started with a 93 pound calf and it gained 2.25 pounds a day from birth. She was smallish anyway, she'll be heading down the road as soon as she gains back a little condition.

 

[inyati13]

The oldest cow I have is 8. After that it goes to 4. I started 3 years ago and my program is built entirely on buying bred heifers each fall and having calves in the spring. I do have about 4 heifers that came as fall calvers. So I have been involved in getting heifers bred back. I have not done anything and in fact didn't know I was suppose to do anything other than have a bull on them. My heifers have been breeding back with a calf at their side in about 40 days. Not been a single heifer not breed back in the last 3 years. That's my experience. I think folks that have seen my pictures know my cattle are simangus. Every fall I buy from Rocking P. My cattle have good pasture, are wormed at least twice a year and are vaccinated for anything that poses a remote risk. They are over-conditioned in many folks opinion. My heifers breed back and so do the cows. I have had onlt one exception. I had an 8 year old cow that did not get bred and a friend palpatated her and thought there was too much fat in her reproductive tract to get the egg into the uterus. I provide that as hearsay because he is not a vet. I sold her and she weighed 1, 890 pounds. I used the money to buy another bred heifer. If the heifers are not suppose to be breeding back so flawlessly, don't tell them. :D

 

[herofan]

The oldest cow I have is 8. After that it goes to 4. I started 3 years ago and my program is built entirely on buying bred heifers each fall and having calves in the spring. I do have about 4 heifers that came as fall calvers. So I have been involved in getting heifers bred back. I have not done anything and in fact didn't know I was suppose to do anything other than have a bull on them. My heifers have been breeding back with a calf at their side in about 40 days. Not been a single heifer not breed back in the last 3 years. That's my experience. I think folks that have seen my pictures know my cattle are simangus. Every fall I buy from Rocking P. My cattle have good pasture, are wormed at least twice a year and are vaccinated for anything that poses a remote risk. They are over-conditioned in many folks opinion. My heifers breed back and so do the cows. I have had onlt one exception. I had an 8 year old cow that did not get bred and a friend palpatated her and thought there was too much fat in her reproductive tract to get the egg into the uterus. I provide that as hearsay because he is not a vet. I sold her and she weighed 1, 890 pounds. I used the money to buy another bred heifer. If the heifers are not suppose to be breeding back so flawlessly, don't tell them. :D

It's good to hear some positive about the situation. I see you also put to rest the idea that heifers are "too much trouble." People look at you like your hair is on fire when you say you have a herd of heifers, but we've had good luck so far, and it appears you do as well.

 

[inyati13]

I have total head 23. 15 are cows and breeding age heifers. Only one cow on the place that did not come here as a heifer. 4 heifers are under the CAIP program so another reason for heifers. I have lost one breeding age animal to bloat. Only one heifer needed assistance and that was a very easy pull. No one around here is negative on heifers. In fact, the only negative is high price but the CAIP program causes some of that. I hear that complaint but really cattle are just high.

 

[3waycross]

We try real hard to push the feed to the heifers for the first 2 months postpartum. They are usually scheduled to calve a month before the cows so they get a month of real good feed maybe more to help them bounce back and bring in their milk. Then they are AI'd with the cows so with all things considered they are expected to breed back 75 to 90 days post partum. It works good for us and they raise a better calf. Not saying it works for you or anyone else here.

 

[randiliana]

I don't know, I've heard the same story about heifers breeding back. This year we lost 3 first calf heifers out of 37, and one of them had a set of twins this spring. So really we don't have a big problem with breeding them back. They get fed separately from the cow herd all winter, but they are treated pretty much the same as the cows from calving onward.

 

[3waycross]

We try real hard to push the feed to the heifers for the first 2 months postpartum. They are usually scheduled to calve a month before the cows so they get a month of real good feed maybe more to help them bounce back and bring in their milk. Then they are AI'd with the cows so with all things considered they are expected to breed back 75 to 90 days post partum. It works good for us and they raise a better calf. Not saying it works for you or anyone else here.

FWIW when i say we push the feed to the heifers what i mean is they get the best cow hay and usually that means a grass alfalfa blend and they get more of it.
Some days they get a little wet barley malt from the local brewery but no corn or prepared ration! A couple of times a week they will get some cake but not a lot.

 

[HughesFamilyCattle]

I have total head 23. 15 are cows and breeding age heifers. Only one cow on the place that did not come here as a heifer. 4 heifers are under the CAIP program so another reason for heifers. I have lost one breeding age animal to bloat. Only one heifer needed assistance and that was a very easy pull. No one around here is negative on heifers. In fact, the only negative is high price but the CAIP program causes some of that. I hear that complaint but really cattle are just high.

Amen on that Ron. The State of Ky Ag/CAIP has over inflated the breed heifer market in this State. It's ridiculous. One guy just paid $1950 for breed heifers (weren't even AI breed). He bought 18-20 of them. Two years ago I paid $1550 for 2 Commerical breed heifers that were AI and they were AI (unregistered stock themselves). I hope to never do that again.....especially at $1800-$2000 each. I think I would buy directly off other seed stock producers unregistered heifers myself and AI them.

 

[dun]

If that program is anything like the MoSelect program, don;t get the idea that the breeder is making a fortune. The costs, fees and work to get heifers into the program are pretty substantial.