OK, more in the saga of the two Hereford Heifers

[dressageophobia]

OK, one of my Hereford Heifers went into season today...bawling, looking longinly over the fence at the cattle down the road, uttering a very come hither bawl and trying to mount the other heifer. The other heifer just looks at here like "wtf?" And wonders what happened to her friend??? (I remember this feeling when I saw the behavior of my friends in junior high school. :shock: :shock:

OK, so what I understand is that I could breed them on the second season. Is that correct?

I read the other posts here and it seems like AI is the way to go when you only have a few head. How do I anticpate the next season??? When do I call the AI person to get the deed done?????

 

[Frankie]

OK, one of my Hereford Heifers went into season today...bawling, looking longinly over the fence at the cattle down the road, uttering a very come hither bawl and trying to mount the other heifer. The other heifer just looks at here like "wtf?" And wonders what happened to her friend??? (I remember this feeling when I saw the behavior of my friends in junior high school. :shock: :shock:

OK, so what I understand is that I could breed them on the second season. Is that correct?

I read the other posts here and it seems like AI is the way to go when you only have a few head. How do I anticpate the next season??? When do I call the AI person to get the deed done?????

How old is she? Heifers will sometimes start cycling before they're ready to raise a calf. Generally people breed heifers to calve as two year olds. Back off nine months and you'll know at about what age to breed her. Cows cycle about every 20 days (18-21). You can breed her younger, but it's pretty stressful on heifers to raise that first calf and you might stunt her growth or affect or her fertility. Plus a 15-16 month old heifer isn't going to raise an especially good calf.

I'd be looking for an AI tech right now for that next heat. Tell them she's cycling now and they can plan for your next call. What bull are you going to breed her to?

 

[dressageophobia]

Thank you Frankie for responding, I think my two heifers are just under one year. I bought them last May and I think they were born near the first of the year. Does that sound right? I should call the guy I got them from and get the info again.

I was thinking that I should call the AI people now and get them lined up for the next heat,,,thanks for affirming that Frankie.

I have no idea about bulls, any suggestions, they are stocky well built heifers. The vet recommended the seller, he is 85 and has raised these Herefords for more than 30 years. These two are from his favorite bull who is deceased now.

I posted pics of these two heifers when I got them and everyone on this board seemed to think they were nice, so I think they are worth breeding.

Does anyone have any recommendations for bulls? I could repost new pics of the heifers!

 

[OhioRiver]

85 years old.....great job..I pray to live to 85 let alone be out and about in the field

Thank you Frankie for responding, I think my two heifers are just under one year. I bought them last May and I think they were born near the first of the year. Does that sound right? I should call the guy I got them from and get the info again.

I was thinking that I should call the AI people now and get them lined up for the next heat,,,thanks for affirming that Frankie.

I have no idea about bulls, any suggestions, they are stocky well built heifers. The vet recommended the seller, he is 85 and has raised these Herefords for more than 30 years. These two are from his favorite bull who is deceased now.

I posted pics of these two heifers when I got them and everyone on this board seemed to think they were nice, so I think they are worth breeding.

Does anyone have any recommendations for bulls? I could repost new pics of the heifers!

 

[dressageophobia]

Well Ohio River, there is a hitch,,,,he was selling off some of his little new heifers cause when he was loading some up in a trailer and one ran him over and broke him up pretty bad. He ended up in the hospital with some broken ribs last year.

His kids and wife were on him to reduce his herd after that...that is why he sold us the two heifers.

Real nice fellow with a nice neat ranch. Yes he is still in the field and has help from his son. Gotta live the way you wanna die if you wanna be happy!! ;-)

 

[LFF]

With first calf heifers and new to cattle business, I'd recommend Frank P230 or Legend 242 for AI work. Either one will give you light weigh easy to calf prodgey. Franks registration number is 42528669 and you can find information on semen from him at this web site http://www.efbeef.com/

Legend is listed in some of the AI books , but let me know if you need help locating semen from him.

 

[Frankie]

Thank you Frankie for responding, I think my two heifers are just under one year. I bought them last May and I think they were born near the first of the year. Does that sound right? I should call the guy I got them from and get the info again.

I was thinking that I should call the AI people now and get them lined up for the next heat,,,thanks for affirming that Frankie.

I have no idea about bulls, any suggestions, they are stocky well built heifers. The vet recommended the seller, he is 85 and has raised these Herefords for more than 30 years. These two are from his favorite bull who is deceased now.

I posted pics of these two heifers when I got them and everyone on this board seemed to think they were nice, so I think they are worth breeding.

Does anyone have any recommendations for bulls? I could repost new pics of the heifers!

I'd check back with the breeder and verify their ages, then wait until the heifers are 13-14 months old to breed them. You probably want them to calve together. Cattle grow until they're about four years old. Raising a calf takes away nutrients they need to grow themselves. Over the years, the industry seems to have settled on two years as the age most heifers can raise a decent calf and still grow herself and breed back for the second calf.

Are they registered? Do you want to breed them to a Hereford bull to be able register the calves? If not, I'd look at an Angus bull. You'll get the black baldies that people rave about on the board if you're wanting to grow your herd and keep heifers. Or if you're going to slaughter them for your own use, pay attention to carcass (on any breed) qualities of the bull. You might do well to talk to the breeder and ask him for suggestions. He may have a bull you can borrow. Or the AI tech may have semen on a bull that he recommends for heifers. Good luck and have fun.

 

[Alan]

I also would breed your heifers at 15 months so they calve at 24 months. Another thing to think about is your weather from calving to weaning. In my case I don't care about the cold as much as the amount of mud, in the wet season they can go belly deep around the feed bunks in some spots (toward early spring) I don't want young calves trying to follow mom into belly deep mud so I calve in early March when the grass starts to grow again.

I too would use Legend 242, easy calving bull, good for first calf heifers, you can get semen from Genex. Here's a link:

http://www.herfnet.com/online/cgi-bin/i ... 5922582620

I also like SHF Progress P20, Who is a Legend 242 son you can get his semen from ABS, Hers's a link;

http://www.herfnet.com/online/cgi-bin/i ... 4&9=5D5E5A

Another good heifer bull is DR World Class, you can get his semen from Accelerated Genetics, Here's the link;

http://www.herfnet.com/online/cgi-bin/i ... 2=4342585B

Lots of low BW bulls out there, and most of the semen providers, ie; select sires, genex, accelerated genetics or ABS should be able to do the AI work for you or find you someone who can, as well as recommend other good heifer bulls (just make sure their BW epd is not too high, 3 or lower).

Good luck,
Alan

 

[dressageophobia]

Gosh, you folks are the bestest ever!!!
Is Legend a Hereford or an Angus. I am leaning towards breeding to an Angus.
They are nOT registered, but we do not care. The gentleman we bought them from raised beef, not pedigrees so I do not hold the illusion of pedigree,,,,,just beef. ;-)

Any more suggestions from the Angus crowd. Thank you very much, I really appreciate it.

Another question, what do you folks in the Pacific NW do to vet your yearlings at this time of year. We wormed them but what else?

 

[Susie David]

If you just want a nice carcass quality semen, why not see what the AI guy has in his tank. Special ordering can get expensive for two heifers and you could miss a cycle.
Of course a guy needs to decide as to when he wants the calving to take place....over here the winter can be nasty so we like to calve in March or else we calve them in the barn.

You will need to watch the animals closely for signs of standing heat. Rule of thumb...standing in the morning, AI in the evening....standing in the evening, AI in the morning. You have a short window to inseminate. Remember that they are no guarentees that the AI will take.

Just my two bits worth...asked for or not...Dmc

 

[Frankie]

There are lots of calving ease Angus bulls. But ordering just a couple of straws will be expensive. I'd agree with others here, find an AI tech and see if he has something to use on heifers in his tank that he'll sell you for a reasonable price. Otherwise, you're going to have to find someone with a tank that will accept delivery and then transfer the semen to the AI tech's tank for him to come breed the heifers for you. I would think he can get you a good, proven Angus calving ease bull for $20-25 a straw.

 

[htrc]

Heres my two cents. The heifers need to be 16 months old & of a decent size(700+ lbs),I personally like my heifers weighing 800 lbs.. A rule of thumb is that cattle cycle every 21 days with a range of 17-23. The most important thing is that are consistent with the days between estrus.If they come into heat every 17 days thats o.k..If they come in heat 17 days this time and 21 days next time then 18 days the third it is a pretty good indication that something might be wrong with the heifer.

 

[dun]

Heres my two cents. The heifers need to be 16 months old & of a decent size(700+ lbs),I personally like my heifers weighing 800 lbs.. A rule of thumb is that cattle cycle every 21 days with a range of 17-23. The most important thing is that are consistent with the days between estrus.If they come into heat every 17 days thats o.k..If they come in heat 17 days this time and 21 days next time then 18 days the third it is a pretty good indication that something might be wrong with the heifer.

Doesn;t the 16 month of age deal tend to keep pushing your calving season later and later?

 

[htrc]

I've bred heifers 14-16 months of age and not had any problems,but seems like 16 months is the best age as far as maturity of the heifers on average.
I guess it depends on when your calving season is normally. I calve in feb-march which puts the heifers at about the right age the next breeding season.If you calve spring and fall you could hold your heifers if you wanted them a little older and breed them to be fall calvers. A couple of years I tried to take my yearling heifers and breed them to drop calves in the fall then weaned the calves at about 4 months.I kept them open thru the lactation,then I bred them to be spring calvers.I just wanted to see if this helped the females make better second calf heifers or increased first service breedings.
It did increase my second calf weaning weight and body condition of the cows.Almost all the heifers bred back first service and I didn't cull any open heifers. Down side was the calving interval,but those females were better cows in the long term.It was a quicker return than if I had waited and bred them as two year olds.It was less costly than breeding them too young and the problems with calving,milking and rebreeding that can occur with that.
Sorry got on a roll-I'll be quiet now