> When do or at about what age do
> heifers start cycling? Then after
> they are one year old you can put
> them back in with a bull, Right? Heifers can cycle from about 7 months old up to about two. Depends on their condition and the breed.Most British breeds cycle very early whereas Bos Indicus breeds are more often later. I very seldom join my South Devon heifers till 2 years. I run my Brahman heifers with the bull at any time as they have never gone in calf early. I have had SD heifers get in calf at 7 months. It stunts their growth and can cause calving problems. Breeds that have longevity in their genes(like Brahmans and South Devons) it never matters if you don't join them early as they will invariably catch up later in their life.
We don't put our registered Longhorns with a bull until they're about 14 months old. Then, they'll calve every year after that. Don't put yearling bull with any females until bull about 14-16 months old.
Like other breeds, Longhorn heifers will start cycling anywhere between about 6 and 9 months old. We keep our bull calves and young heifers separated always.
Heifers should be minimum of 65% of their adult weight before putting with bull...we usually wait until heifers are at least 700-800 lbs before putting with a bull.
> When do or at about what age do
> heifers start cycling? Then after
> they are one year old you can put
> them back in with a bull, Right?
We had a Simm X Angus heifer that was accidentally bred at 6 months. Our neighbor's bull apparently decided to help us out and we didn't know it until she was too far into the pregnancy to do anything about it.The neighbor got his bull put back up and didn't bother to tell us he had been in with our heifers. What a friend! Her bull calf had to be pulled and was dead by the time the vet could get out. We took a chance and kept her and she has been one of our best producing cows, always calving every 11-12 months.
Age isn't the only part when deciding when to put the bull in with the heifers. We have Simm X Angus calves that have a large skeletal structure and we have had very good luck putting heifers in with the bull between 12-14 months of age. Skeletal structure, weight, and age all play a role.
