Keeping/Separating fall heifers

[Brute 23]

If you have the places to hold them I would keep them if you need replacements. The high calf price deal is relative because cow prices tend to track with calf prices.

Definitely pull the bull and feed him and dump the heifers back in with cows. You will need a good set up for him. You can't have bulls on one side and cows right on the othe side of the wire.

I would not worry about the bull breeding his daughters. Just don't keep retaining them, again. Make sure you have a good heifer friendly bull that you know the epds on.

Keeps good books on the expenses and labor for them. There is only one way to know and that is to try it.

 

[RDFF]

If you're concerned about "waste" of the hay, try unrolling, and then just unroll as much of the bale as you need... you can always
reload the bale to unroll further...

With the high heifer price, I'd probably opt to sell, and replace with 3 for 1's. Hard to go too wrong with them... If dry conditions hit, and you've got pasture waiting to take them when others don't have it, that will work in your favor.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Even though it doesn't always make the most financial sense i grow my herd thru retained heifers. I know that the genetic lines I keep back do well on the forage we grow here and in the rugged climate we have.

I've had some bad luck buying animals and watching them falter and fail to thrive on our native grass pasture and harsh winters.

I wean and then keep them separate until after they are bred. Its more work but in my mind its well worth it.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Are you feeding dry round bales? Put one in a feeder. It should keep fine for a week or so ....if it's a good tight bale.
Or, as mentioned, just give part if the bale.
Just depends on the quality of YOUR heifers. Hard to buy replacements better than what you raise.
If you sell, I would also look for 3 in 1 packages.

 

[Pineywoods230]

Are you feeding dry round bales? Put one in a feeder. It should keep fine for a week or so ....if it's a good tight bale.
Or, as mentioned, just give part if the bale.
Just depends on the quality of YOUR heifers. Hard to buy replacements better than what you raise.
If you sell, I would also look for 3 in 1 packages.

I store net wrapped bales from outside. I just keep from second cutting in September or so and feed or sale it all by first cutting the following year to keep from letting it spoil to bad. Never tried letting a few hd just work on a bale of hay by themselves, wonder how long it would take them

 

[Pineywoods230]

Even though it doesn't always make the most financial sense i grow my herd thru retained heifers. I know that the genetic lines I keep back do well on the forage we grow here and in the rugged climate we have.

I've had some bad luck buying animals and watching them falter and fail to thrive on our native grass pasture and harsh winters.

I wean and then keep them separate until after they are bred. Its more work but in my mind its well worth it.

The separation is where I'm struggling to justify when it comes to winter feeding. Seems kinda silly and difficult to feed 4-5 heifers by themselves or just my bull then feed the remaining part of the herd. Keeping separate while I have grass isn't a problem

 

[TCRanch]

I retain heifers every year and they do have their own pasture; they aren't introduced back into the main herd until after they've had their first calf. Does it make financial sense? Sometimes, sometimes not. But it makes perfect sense in my operation. I know exactly what I'm getting and only select what I deem are the top heifers from proven cows, so I know their history & potential. Plus, I don't have to worry about biosecurity.

Can you loan or lease the bull? Get him out of the picture for now so you'll eventually have a defined calving season - and no oops babies. Hot wire and/or just a small pen is merely a suggestion.

 

[Pineywoods230]

I retain heifers every year and they do have their own pasture; they aren't introduced back into the main herd until after they've had their first calf. Does it make financial sense? Sometimes, sometimes not. But it makes perfect sense in my operation. I know exactly what I'm getting and only select what I deem are the top heifers from proven cows, so I know their history & potential. Plus, I don't have to worry about biosecurity.

Can you loan or lease the bull? Get him out of the picture for now so you'll eventually have a defined calving season - and no oops babies. Hot wire and/or just a small pen is merely a suggestion.

I won't be able to loan my bull out in winter, no one would want to expend the labor of feeding him I imagine. My calving season is within 3 months as of right now though this is only year two with this herd

 

[Travlr]

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

When I was selling replacement heifers I looked around the area for big outfits with high quality cattle, and asked around to see if they culled based on age. If they culled at ten years automatically, I'd buy their heavy bred cows at the sale barn, and eventually privately as I got to know people, because the cows were proven producers. If the cow raised a 600 pound calf I'd breed her to a really good bull and get one or two more calves. I would raise the heifers, synchronize and AI them, and sell them back to the people I bought the cows from for three times what I paid for the cows to begin with. Carefully watching the cows for condition, I'd sell them before they lost value. Turnover was high, but I liked that part of it.
I know people that raise their own replacements, bulls, background, and all of them make their niche work for them. Raising replacements for sale meant I had steers to sell at weaning too.

One thing I see a lot of people do is go to the sale barn and look for "deals", as in cheap. I think that's a big mistake. If I'm buying somebody's culls I'm looking for his best. One bid over kill prices on a good cow is a much better deal than one bid over kill prices on a crappy cow... even if it's more money.

 

[Warren Allison]

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.

He can't replace what he has. He uses Brangus cows, and black baldie heifer does not replace a Brangus cow.

 

[Pineywoods230]

He can't replace what he has. He uses Brangus cows, and black baldie heifer does not replace a Brangus cow.

That is true but I wouldn't mind having the baldies mixed in with my brangus. They do seem like they make good mommas too, definitely get the docility from my Hereford which is a big bonus working alone

 

[chaded]

He can't replace what he has. He uses Brangus cows, and black baldie heifer does not replace a Brangus cow.

I'm referring to replacing the heifers that he is thinking about keeping or selling.

 

[Warren Allison]

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

But if you breed them to a neighbor's bull, you gonna have half of them BWF with almost no ear, and half that are RWF with no ear. . Neither will bring as much as those Brangus x Herford would. You have a very popular cross, one of the best selling, with the Br x herf. Even if you sold the 5 heifers for $5k, and bought 3 bred Brangus or two 3 n 1 Brangus deals, you'd probably be money a head. IF you did keep those black baldy heifers, I would breed them to a Brangus bull if the neighbors had one, before I would a Hereford. That would be a better choice for me here in north Ga, but may not be for you in NE Texas, thought the latitude and climates are very similar.

 

[Warren Allison]

But if you breed them to a neighbor's Hereford bull, you gonna have half of them BWF with almost no ear, and half that are RWF with no ear. . Neither will bring as much as those Brangus x Herford would. You have a very popular cross, one of the best selling, with the Br x herf. Even if you sold the 5 heifers for $5k, and bought 3 bred Brangus or two 3 n 1 Brangus deals, you'd probably be money ahead. IF you did keep those black baldy heifers, I would breed them to a Brangus bull if the neighbors had one, before I would a Hereford. That would be a better choice for me here in north Ga, but may not be for you in NE Texas, thought the latitude and climates are very similar.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

I feed my replacement heifers in a small pasture with a bale feeder or unrolling all winter depending on how many head I keep back. Just a cost of keeping good working genetics on the farm.

 

[Pineywoods230]

But if you breed them to a neighbor's bull, you gonna have half of them BWF with almost no ear, and half that are RWF with no ear. . Neither will bring as much as those Brangus x Herford would. You have a very popular cross, one of the best selling, with the Br x herf. Even if you sold the 5 heifers for $5k, and bought 3 bred Brangus or two 3 n 1 Brangus deals, you'd probably be money a head. IF you did keep those black baldy heifers, I would breed them to a Brangus bull if the neighbors had one, before I would a Hereford. That would be a better choice for me here in north Ga, but may not be for you in NE Texas, thought the latitude and climates are very similar.

They are, you make some solid points about keeping the F1s going. It would be nice to find an individual to source any replacements from vs shopping randomly until I find some though. Think after reading all of this I'm gonna sell and if I want to keep heifers in the future I'll build a separate pasture solely for them. I just don't have the infrastructure to justify

 

[Brute 23]

4 or 5 heifers don't eat near as much as cows. Just put a bale in a hay ring and let them have at it. No one can say how much they will eat because it varies a lot on the pasture conditions.

Generally, you shouldnt be trying to fatten up heifers through the winter. You just want them to maintain and grow frame. Then with a spring green up they slick off and you breed them.

I'm of the belief that you want to develope heifers as naturally as possible and as simular to your cow program as possible. If you have to push feed to heifers then they probably are not good candidates for cows.

 

[wbvs58]

Apart from advancing my own genetics, biosecurity is a big one for me, no introductions to my herd.

Ken

 

[Brute 23]

Heifer places can be a little easier to come by. Find a small place that needs to maintain the ag exemption and trade the upkeep for the lease, no cash. Dont over graze and stockpile grass when you dont have heifers. It pays for itself, especially through the winter if you can get some winter grass.

 

[Stocker Steve]

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..

1) Kenny nailed that timing is key.
2) An issue is local feed cost
3) Another issue is local replacement pricing
4) Income tax strategy
5) And then there is herd size

Seems like bred heifers are worth more in the west and cost less to winter there. My genetics allow me to winter heifers with cows on cow hay for less than the local pricing, but they still cost more than buying aged cows.

A stout pen or a remote pasture for multiple bulls works. A herd of one does not work well.

So sell the heifers unless you really want to mess with AI and then lease a clean-up bull.