How do you develop/feed replacement heifers?

[Farmgirl]

Another thread got me thinking about this. I know some of you don't feed replacement heifers their first winter after weaning but some do. How much to you feed? What do you feed? What are your weaning weights and breeding weights?

We are feeding about 5 pounds a day to heifers plus poor to medium quality grass hay. We are trying to get a 1 pound to 1.5 pound daily gain. Weaning weights were upper 500s. Breeding weights usually run upper 800s.

Thanks for sharing.

Farmgirl

 

[novaman]

I aim for an ADG of 1.8 pounds from birth to calving. This allows for the heifers to reach their genetic potential without getting over conditioned.

 

[randiliana]

This is the first year that we haven't pailed grain to the replacement heifers. However they are getting triticale grain bales so they are still getting grain. We aim for about a 1.5 lb gain on them as well. They will be getting weighed here in the next few days so we can see how they are doing, and then we might change things, but they look pretty good to me, so hopefully the weights = how I think they are looking.

When we did pail grain, we fed 5-10 lbs depending on the grain. More if it was oats and less if it was a hotter feed. Our replacement heifers usually average around 600 lbs, and we like them to be about 750-800 at spring turnout.

Of course we have to deal with some nasty and cold weather over the winter, and if they aren't getting good enough feed it is hard to get them to grow much over the winter.

 

[jedstivers]

This is the first year that we haven't pailed grain to the replacement heifers. However they are getting triticale grain bales so they are still getting grain. We aim for about a 1.5 lb gain on them as well. They will be getting weighed here in the next few days so we can see how they are doing, and then we might change things, but they look pretty good to me, so hopefully the weights = how I think they are looking.

When we did pail grain, we fed 5-10 lbs depending on the grain. More if it was oats and less if it was a hotter feed. Our replacement heifers usually average around 600 lbs, and we like them to be about 750-800 at spring turnout.

Of course we have to deal with some nasty and cold weather over the winter, and if they aren't getting good enough feed it is hard to get them to grow much over the winter.

Was the tritacle mature when it was cut for hay or was it still green? If mature how do you keep it from shattering?

 

[bigbull338]

when i have heifers up in the pen i feed 1.5% of their bw in feed.an your heifers really need your top end hay to get up to breeding size.personally im on the other end.my heifers stay with the cows from weaning to calving.the heifers eat what the cows do year round,only getting grain if the cows do.the heifers weigh 900 or more at calving.

 

[GMN]

are u talking beef heifers or dairy?

 

[Angus Cowman]

This yr on my hfrs
after weaning and being fed 45-60 days I turned them out on pasture in late july and always made sure they had a bale of hay out but 30 hd would eat a bale maybe every 10 days or so
so mostly they were just on pasture and when I brought them in the middle of sept and did pelvic measurements they were weighing 800-850 lbs at 12 1/2 months
turned them out with the bull in mid november and they are on pasture (stockpiled fescue) and are getting about 2 bales of hay per week they are maintaining BC and looking good
I will turn them out to graze some rye the middle of this month with some first calf pairs after I pull bulls
and they will stay seperate from the other cows all summer and next fall after calving and put on some of the better pastures
some yrs we will cube them a two or three times per week with a 20% cube at about 3-5lbs pr feeding

 

[backhoeboogie]

They get premium forage during the summer and high quality coastal hay all winter. Nothing else other than loose mineral and salt. This works for me and it is essentially the same ration they will get their entire adult life if they stay.

 

[randiliana]

Was the tritacle mature when it was cut for hay or was it still green? If mature how do you keep it from shattering?

There was still a little green in the straw when it was cut, but it was pretty mature. We combined some of the same field, and we had trouble getting it to thrash out. We used a haybine and then just baled it up, didn't do anything too special with it.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Randi said: Of course we have to deal with some nasty and cold weather over the winter, and if they aren't getting good enough feed it is hard to get them to grow much over the winter.

This is same situation for us.
First, our cattle are Simmental, frame 5 - 6. Average 205 day WW was 635# for heifers. Weaned in Sept - will be bred at about 1000# in April. Shoot for 1.75#/day gain.
Our replacement heifers are fed about 5# of shell corn w/ protein pellets making a 12.7% protein along with great baleage - free choice. Right now, I've started reducing their amount to about 4# and we will be dropping the protein pellets. They are in really good condition and I do not want them to get fat.

 

[farmwriter]

High quality hay is hard to come by around here, so we feed them during the winter. This yr is the first we've given them cotton seed, but I am really pleased with how they look on it so far. Not fat, but healthy, and hay still makes up the vast majority of their diet. It is much less expensive than any other quality feed we could have gotten for them too. We're also feeding it to our first calvers to help them keep their condition. We top dress it with a little sweet feed to entice the weaners (we have two in there that will be beef for our freezer, so technically they're not all replacements) , but the first calvers eat it right up.

 

[HOSS]

I have 2 replacements that were seperated about a month ago. They weaned at about 650 lbs. Right now they are getting 6# of 12% pelletized beef feed each per day along with free choice grass hay of decent quality. My goal is to have them at 900+ pounds by summer. I will start backing off on the feed as winter closes down.

 

[TexasBred]

High quality hay is hard to come by around here, so we feed them during the winter. This yr is the first we've given them cotton seed, but I am really pleased with how they look on it so far. Not fat, but healthy, and hay still makes up the vast majority of their diet. It is much less expensive than any other quality feed we could have gotten for them too. We're also feeding it to our first calvers to help them keep their condition. We top dress it with a little sweet feed to entice the weaners (we have two in there that will be beef for our freezer, so technically they're not all replacements) , but the first calvers eat it right up.

You can't beat whole cottonseed. And I know what you mean about the hay. it all looks good in a bale but most around here is not that good when you have it tested.