Keeping/Separating fall heifers

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Pineywoods230

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I'm on the fence on if it's worth raising my own heifers vs buying replacements as needed and would like to hear your thoughts.

Currently running 20+ pairs with one bull. I've got 140 acres in NE Texas to play with with one ten acre cross fenced where I feed hay, though I run an electric fence across my place giving them 45 acres to winter in the lot is just my highest ground and hay yard.

My questions is thus,
should I keep the 4-5 heifers I like in that ten acre lot until they are 15+ months old? Then have to feed two groups hay separately?
Separate my bull off and return the heifers to the main herd as yearlings after their moms have new calves by their sides? Same issue with hay but then for one individual animal.
Sell all of calves and buy new replacements already old enough to breed? Con there being is it's a lot expensive vs the cost of keeping heifers myself.

My first year venturing with cow/calf over stockers and still on the fence on how to proceed.
Thanks for your time
 
I would pull the bull. The heifers learn a lot being with cows. If you vote to keep them.

One bull would require much less ground too.

It really depends, and is hard for someone to advise you on. If you like your genetics, and feel they're better than what you can buy, I would definitely raise my own. They can be expensive if you put pencil to paper, but you know what you've got.

I think it's a good experience to have.
 
Pineywoods230 said:
I'm on the fence on if it's worth raising my own heifers vs buying replacements as needed and would like to hear your thoughts.
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One advantage to buying replacements is you can walk away if you don't like what you see.

Instead of buying open replacement heifers, I'd strongly consider buying bred 2 or 3 yr olds or with calves at their side.
To avoid calving heifers, seeing as you're new to cow/calf from stockers. Heifers can be such a pain and a good looking heifer
is not a guarantee of her being a good momma cow.
 
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Son of Butch said:
One advantage to buying replacements is you can walk away if you don't like what you see.

Instead of buying open replacement heifers, I'd strongly consider buying bred 2 or 3 yr olds or with calves at their side.
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I started initially with bred 3-5 year olds $1400/hd which was very nice vs buying straight open heifers. That price is what I've used to say keeping heifers for me would be far cheaper per replacement but it is seeming like a headache through the winter just feeding a few head separately as I only use round bales I feel the waste would be extremely high. Keeping them separate while I have grass seems fairly painless with the 10 acre lot I have with its new fairly stout fence not to say they couldn't bust it if they wanted but I doubt they'll try
 
Pineywoods230 said:
I started initially with bred 3-5 year olds $1400/hd which was very nice vs buying straight open heifers. That price is what I've used to say keeping heifers for me would be far cheaper per replacement but it is seeming like a headache through the winter just feeding a few head separately as I only use round bales I feel the waste would be extremely high. Keeping them separate while I have grass seems fairly painless with the 10 acre lot I have with its new fairly stout fence not to say they couldn't bust it if they wanted but I doubt they'll try
Click to expand...
This week a good 500 lb heifer is worth over $1,000. Hard to keep them at these prices.
Think about this, cattle have historically been on a 10 year price cycle of highs and lows. A heifer kept now will be at her peak during the low part of the cycle and 10 year old by the next high cycle. Keep heifers when they are cheap and sell when high..
 
At 2.00 lb for 5 wt heifers we are selling most all of them this year... Have already sold nearly all the steers, using different markets to take advantage of what sells better, where... and have shipped most of the "odd balls" ... now will sell the 20-30 heifers we were going to graze out for the summer as we managed to buy in some bulls for .30 less than what we sold the steers for a few weeks ago... they will be steers in the next couple of days and then they will go out to be grazed for the summer... with the looks of the futures markets, and probably using the LRP we should be able to make some money on them. We have cut our herd size this year with normal culling and being more strict with cows that are not doing a very good job....
 
Pineywoods230 said:
I'm on the fence on if it's worth raising my own heifers vs buying replacements as needed and would like to hear your thoughts.

Currently running 20+ pairs with one bull. I've got 140 acres in NE Texas to play with with one ten acre cross fenced where I feed hay, though I run an electric fence across my place giving them 45 acres to winter in the lot is just my highest ground and hay yard.

My questions is thus,
should I keep the 4-5 heifers I like in that ten acre lot until they are 15+ months old? Then have to feed two groups hay separately?
Separate my bull off and return the heifers to the main herd as yearlings after their moms have new calves by their sides? Same issue with hay but then for one individual animal.
Sell all of calves and buy new replacements already old enough to breed? Con there being is it's a lot expensive vs the cost of keeping heifers myself.

My first year venturing with cow/calf over stockers and still on the fence on how to proceed.
Thanks for your time
Click to expand...
IMO, for a commercial cow/calf operation. you can buy a young cow, not heifer, a lot cheaper than you can grow one for the 2 years before she has her first calf. That cow will give you 2 calves in the time it take for the retained heifer to have 1. Three, if you buy a heavy bred cow. Or a 3 n 1 cow/calf pair. Not every cow in the sale is a cull. Someone is selling out every day, and taking quality cattle to an auction. Down here, most people calve year round and leave their bull in year round, and trailer=wean the calves, heifers and steers alike, when they carry them to the sale at about 6 mos old.
So, there is no worry about heifers bred to young, daughters getting bred to their sires, etc. Like Kenny said, right now those heifers could bring $1000 or more. So if you keep one, there's $1000 in lost revenue you have in her. Then add the cost of raising her from 6 mos old to 2yr's old before she calves. Let's say you sold those 5 for only enough to buy three 7 mos bred cows. Those 5 heifers could give you 5 calves in 18 months or so. Those 3 heavy breds would give you 6 in the same amount of time. What breed(s) of cows do you have?
 
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Warren Allison said:
IMO, for a commercial cow/calf operation. you can buy a young cow, not heifer, a lot cheaper than you can grow one for the 2 years before she has her first calf. That cow will give you 2 calves in the time it take for the retained heifer to have 1. Three, if you buy a heavy bred cow. Or a 3 n 1 cow/calf pair. Not every cow in the sale is a cull. Someone is selling out every day, and taking quality cattle to an auction. Down here, most people calve year round and leave their bull in year round, and trailer=wean the claves, heifers and steers alike, when they carry them to the sale. So, there is no worry about heifers bred to young, daughters getting bred to their sires, etc. Like Kenny said, right now those heifers could bring $1000 or more. So if you keep one, there's $1000 in lost revenue you have in her. Then add the cost of raising her from 6 mos old to 2yr's old before she calves. Let's say you sold those 5 for only enough to buy 3 7 mos bred cows. Those 5 heifers could give you 5 calves in 18 months or so. Those 3 heavy breds would give you 6 in the same amount of time. What breed(s) of cows do you have?
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Brangus running with a Hereford bull. I've been leaning towards selling them all and definitely sounds like most of y'all agree. But it is definitely hard to find good brangus around me for a decent price, they are fairly popular
 
bird dog said:
I agree with the others. Sell them. I usually keep three to 5 per year but the current price is just to good compared to what bred heifers are bringing. Wait until the grass gets thin this summer and look around then.
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That's not a bad idea at all, I'm betting we have a bad summer as hot as it's been this spring
 
Pineywoods230 said:
Brangus running with a Hereford bull. I've been leaning towards selling them all and definitely sounds like most of y'all agree. But it is definitely hard to find good brangus around me for a decent price, they are fairly popular
Click to expand...
Hereford bull on a Brangus cow is an awesome terminal cross., and those heifers would sell well. But crossing back on your Hereford bull, never mind in breeding, would not yield the same hybrid vigor.
 
Pineywoods230 said:
Brangus running with a Hereford bull. I've been leaning towards selling them all and definitely sounds like most of y'all agree. But it is definitely hard to find good brangus around me for a decent price, they are fairly popular
Click to expand...

Just my opinion but if you are going to have trouble finding what you already have or will have to pay a good bit to replace then keep them. Seems like it can be a crapshoot either way between buying and raising. At least you know what you have and have been raised in your environment.
 
chaded said:
Just my opinion but if you are going to have trouble finding what you already have or will have to pay a good bit to replace then keep them. Seems like it can be a crapshoot either way between buying and raising. At least you know what you have and have been raised in your environment.
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Finding them isn't hard but at a good price definitely is. But leaves me the issue of what to do with the heifers over the course of time till they age out.
 
Warren Allison said:
Hereford bull on a Brangus cow is an awesome terminal cross., and those heifers would sell well. But crossing back on your Hereford bull, never mind in breeding, would not yield the same hybrid vigor.
Click to expand...
That's true but I'd change bulls before I bred them back if I kept them. A few big neighbors around me will usually swap with me
 
Pineywoods230 said:
Finding them isn't hard but at a good price definitely is. But leaves me the issue of what to do with the heifers over the course of time till they age out.
Click to expand...

Really no way around it, if you're going to keep them they need their own lot. That's been my limitation, space. But this year I am moving to keeping my own and I am going to dedicate an area to them.
 
chaded said:
Really no way around it, if you're going to keep them they need their own lot. That's been my limitation, space. But this year I am moving to keeping my own and I am going to dedicate an area to them.
Click to expand...
Do you feed round bales? I know how much to feed my herd so I feed every other day per bale and I just worry if I keep them separated 4-5 heifers would take to long to finish a roll causing the bulk of hay to get wasted
 

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