Open Cows

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Texas G@l said:
What time of year are you trying to breed back??? Texas heat can make it hard to get cows settled .
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May 1st to Aug 1st. This year we are 25% calved out in 14 days days. Last year I think we calved out 60% in first 30 days. I know the heat effects them but only a few should still be unsettled by the time temps get really hot. We tried April 15th to July 15th one year and it was worse for opens.
 
Lucky said:
May 1st to Aug 1st. This year we are 25% calved out in 14 days days. Last year I think we calved out 60% in first 30 days. I know the heat effects them but only a few should still be unsettled by the time temps get really hot. We tried April 15th to July 15th one year and it was worse for opens.
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Your bulls are in too long and you are keeping cows that don't breed back in three estrus cycles. And then they are still around the next year to skew your results.
 
If you are wanting March or later calves to avoid weather issues, you have no choice but to breed when its hot. I personally don't think its a problem unless your bull doesn't want to come off the shade tree to get his work done. I know its not a good idea for most but calving year round will dispel a lot of opinions that folks tell you about the cattle industry.
There are lots of advantages folks never mention. A late calf that lets you sell the cull cow as a pair is one.
 
If you have been culling opens - and you don't see a pattern on old/young/thin/fat - it goes back to NUTRITION & minerals. Or poor fertility in bulls.
You can say, "well, 70% bred early just fine without minerals". Yes, some animals don't seem to be as affected to lack of minerals as others - BUT - you are not saying it's always the same group of cows that breed up early.
I stick with my opinion - nutrition and minerals (which is also nutrition).
 
Jeanne - Simme Valley said:
If you have been culling opens - and you don't see a pattern on old/young/thin/fat - it goes back to NUTRITION & minerals. Or poor fertility in bulls.
You can say, "well, 70% bred early just fine without minerals". Yes, some animals don't seem to be as affected to lack of minerals as others - BUT - you are not saying it's always the same group of cows that breed up early.
I stick with my opinion - nutrition and minerals (which is also nutrition).
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This is what I am leaning towards also. Last year we did keep conceptaid out all year and had the worst percentage ever. I talked to the people at VitaFerm and they actually recommended I try another mineral. They said the cows only consumed half of what they should have. The cattle come out of feeding season ( mid March) looking great but do start falling apart chasing the green grass. Would you recommend supplementing them longer? They stop coming to the troughs but we have looked at tubs.
 
bird dog said:
If you are wanting March or later calves to avoid weather issues, you have no choice but to breed when its hot. I personally don't think its a problem unless your bull doesn't want to come off the shade tree to get his work done. I know its not a good idea for most but calving year round will dispel a lot of opinions that folks tell you about the cattle industry.
There are lots of advantages folks never mention. A late calf that lets you sell the cull cow as a pair is one.
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One of my neighbors who just started calving in the last week or so said that anything which hasn't had a calf by April 15 is getting on the truck on April 16. Bred cows sell better than open kill cows. And sometime in late April the cows head into the hills so it would be real difficult to find and capture a late calving cow to sell as a pair.
 
Lucky said:
This is what I am leaning towards also. Last year we did keep conceptaid out all year and had the worst percentage ever. I talked to the people at VitaFerm and they actually recommended I try another mineral. They said the cows only consumed half of what they should have. The cattle come out of feeding season ( mid March) looking great but do start falling apart chasing the green grass. Would you recommend supplementing them longer? They stop coming to the troughs but we have looked at tubs.
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I'd like to see some pics of your "average" cow (red cows take better pics) to see what kind of flesh she is in, and maybe some shots of a pasture once your animals have been rotated off of it. After it's eaten down.
 
15% open is pretty bad, that's 3 out of a herd of 20.
Years ago I had one cow, great cow, and she'd have an early calf, then come up late, then breed back early, and be late again the next year. She was getting well fed and was in good condition, but this led me to think she was getting run down on something that wasn't visible.. I did a blood test and she came up VERY low in Selenium, Copper, and Phosphorus.. all of which are important to reproductive and immune system functions. Once I knew what my herd needed I was able to select better for minerals, and tailor my minerals to the time of year.. more selenium before calving, more phosphorus between calving and breeding. She was a higher producing cow so she was the first to show signs of inadequate nutrition. I kept her because she was able to raise a calf in 5 months in what it took most other cows 7 months to do
 
Nesikep said:
WHAAAAAT???? Around here they usually go into the winter a little thin (they just weaned their calves) and they gain weight and are back in nice shape by calving time
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They need to have some room to be gaining weight during the breeding season. They don't need to be skinny, but they should be gaining weight for breeding. It's also natural for cows to lose some weight in the colder months and they are evolved to follow these cycles. Not a lot of weight fluctuation, but definitely some. No more than ten percent.
 

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