Just Curious

[Tumbleweed@23]

I've noticed that a lot of you say that your cows calf in September thru January. Why do you want late in the year calves? Why not spring calves? Just curious.

 

[wobbie1775]

I've noticed that a lot of you say that your cows calf in September thru January. Why do you want late in the year calves? Why not spring calves? Just curious.

Some folks i know just leave the bull in year round and let calves happen when they happen. No "season" per se. I agree that spring calves make sense...since that's when the deer fawn. I suppose some calve out of that sequence in an attempt to market big calves when there is less supply? Im interested to see some answers too.

 

[bird dog]

For fall calves, they are big and gaining fast when the spring flush comes on and then you can sell into the strength of the market in early summer or put on to summer grass. CenTex weather is generally mild thru the winter. Not so much where you live.

 

[Tumbleweed@23]

Thank you! That makes sense and I can see what you're saying, but don't you take a risk that the calves die thru the winter?

 

[Lucky]

I agree that it depends on the climate you live in. We calve late winter through early spring because it takes too much feed to keep a lactating cow in shape through the winter. It'd be nice to have the calves at 3-400# when the grass comes on though.

 

[Brute 23]

That has always been the problem with a calving season for me, the best time of year changes every year.

Our weather patterns are so messed up its hard to plan. We can't hardly breed July and Aug or work cattle because of the heat. Our fall has become very productive and can be long and our spring is almost non-existent. We go from winter to summer. Spring is like 30-45 days.

It's hard to put all your eggs in one basket.

I think we are heading in the direction of calving Sept-Nov. Putting bulls in Dec-Feb. I only say that because we are having good luck stockpiling grass and feeding wcs to take cattle through the winter. That put most our cattle work in the cooler part of the year, also.

 

[coachg]

The majority of our cows calve in the spring but we do have some fall ones . In N Alabama it’s tough on a cow to raise a calf in winter but it’s the only ones I try to creep calves . It’s good to have some to sell Feb/Mar . Helps pay for fertilizer.

 

[farmerjan]

We have 2 calving groups to utilize the pastures and grazing areas we have. We do get cold here, but not the snow like we used to. We like having 4-5 wt calves to sell in the spring when there is a greater demand. We make some corn silage and feed that to cows with the smaller calves through the winter as a boost to just hay. We also usually put together some groups of steers, by buying bull calves and such in the fall, working them, then making up groups of similar sized and type cattle to sell in the spring when the demand, and usually the prices, are better.
We shoot for our fall calving cows to calve in late Aug/Sept/Oct... but since we also buy and sell some, we will have cows that calve in Dec sometimes. One saving grace to these late calving cows, is we will hold them over and put out to grass with their calves and they get bred back to calve the following spring. Yes they go 15 months between calves, but then that gets them calving with the spring group. Sometimes you can get them to "back up" to calves in Oct or Nov...
The fall calving cows can calve out on pastures that are clean... the spring calving cows calve at the barn in the "calving lots" where we can get them tagged and banded right off, then take them to pastures in groups of 5 or 6 at a time, and they can get started on grass and the calves do good.
We have less trouble from the miserable black vultures with fall calving for some reason... maybe because the cows go off in the trees/brush/thickets to calve where those buzzards won't go because they need a cleared out area to take off to fly.....the spring cows have to be watched much closer as those dam#@d basturds will do all they can to get the calves.

If we wean off calves in the spring from the fall cows, we can keep them and pasture them or sell with the market situation. The spring calving cows will have the calves ready to wean in late fall, and the market is often flooded with everyone else's calves. We usually keep those calves, weaned and on feed , to mix in with any others we have of similar size and sell in groups.

I would rather run extra heifers on the spring grass and then they do get bred normally in June, for spring calves the next year. We do better with heifers calving in the spring, and they get the added benefit of making milk and growing to be able to breed back from the spring grass growth.
Although not as economical, especially not the past year, we will sometimes hold over a good cow that for some reason does not get bred back when she should, and move her back to the next group... they get one chance that way. If they are a problem breeder, the next time they fail to get bred, they go. The 2 calving groups also gives us a chance to take advantage of these bought cows that are out of synch....

We also have 2 places we make some first cutting hay off of the pastures, and then can move cattle in for later pastures. So this gives us some flexibility of what we have and what we can move around.

 

[Tumbleweed@23]

We have 2 calving groups to utilize the pastures and grazing areas we have. We do get cold here, but not the snow like we used to. We like having 4-5 wt calves to sell in the spring when there is a greater demand. We make some corn silage and feed that to cows with the smaller calves through the winter as a boost to just hay. We also usually put together some groups of steers, by buying bull calves and such in the fall, working them, then making up groups of similar sized and type cattle to sell in the spring when the demand, and usually the prices, are better.
We shoot for our fall calving cows to calve in late Aug/Sept/Oct... but since we also buy and sell some, we will have cows that calve in Dec sometimes. One saving grace to these late calving cows, is we will hold them over and put out to grass with their calves and they get bred back to calve the following spring. Yes they go 15 months between calves, but then that gets them calving with the spring group. Sometimes you can get them to "back up" to calves in Oct or Nov...
The fall calving cows can calve out on pastures that are clean... the spring calving cows calve at the barn in the "calving lots" where we can get them tagged and banded right off, then take them to pastures in groups of 5 or 6 at a time, and they can get started on grass and the calves do good.
We have less trouble from the miserable black vultures with fall calving for some reason... maybe because the cows go off in the trees/brush/thickets to calve where those buzzards won't go because they need a cleared out area to take off to fly.....the spring cows have to be watched much closer as those dam#@d basturds will do all they can to get the calves.

If we wean off calves in the spring from the fall cows, we can keep them and pasture them or sell with the market situation. The spring calving cows will have the calves ready to wean in late fall, and the market is often flooded with everyone else's calves. We usually keep those calves, weaned and on feed , to mix in with any others we have of similar size and sell in groups.

I would rather run extra heifers on the spring grass and then they do get bred normally in June, for spring calves the next year. We do better with heifers calving in the spring, and they get the added benefit of making milk and growing to be able to breed back from the spring grass growth.
Although not as economical, especially not the past year, we will sometimes hold over a good cow that for some reason does not get bred back when she should, and move her back to the next group... they get one chance that way. If they are a problem breeder, the next time they fail to get bred, they go. The 2 calving groups also gives us a chance to take advantage of these bought cows that are out of synch....

We also have 2 places we make some first cutting hay off of the pastures, and then can move cattle in for later pastures. So this gives us some flexibility of what we have and what we can move around.

Thank you.

 

[bird dog]

but don't you take a risk that the calves die thru the winter

No more risk of a healthy calf dying in winter than in summer. Mother nature takes care of them and they are born with a heavy coat.

 

[Dsth]

I have found that starting to calve in November works the best for me. I like to finish by mid - late January. my reasoning is that it gives me time to AI my cows back before going out to pasture in the spring. My old dairy barn is used for cows close to calving for protection from the weather and has facility for needed assistance if needed. I bale my own hay and corn stocks so feeding over the winter is not a big concern. not unusual for cows/heifers to calf during extreme cold periods but a space heater in a warming pen makes a lot of difference if needed.

 

[Tumbleweed@23]

No more risk of a healthy calf dying in winter than in summer. Mother nature takes care of them and they are born with a heavy coat.

Thank you!