Pulling bulls off of cows

[Rafter S]

There is another discussion going on that reminded me of something I've been wondering about. I didn't want to highjack it so I'm starting a new one.

I know the experts recommend leaving your bulls on the cows for 90 days for a 90 day calving period (or 60 days, or whatever), and then pull them, and that's what a lot of folks do. I can't understand why. My calving season starts about November 1, so I put the bulls out around February 1, but I leave them out until the first calf is born. I pull them then because I don't want the cows calving early, although that sometimes happens anyway thanks to my neighbor's bulls.

This year I had 6 cows that didn't calf on time (that's higher than usual for me, but that's not relevant to the question), so I sold them. Two of them were open, and sold for somewhere around $1100 each. I don't have the numbers in front of me right now, but the other 4 were bred, and averaged around $2500. If I'd pulled the bulls off on May 1 I'd be somewhere between $5000 and $6000 poorer now. I know that if I had a spring calving season then the late cows would be due in the summer, and likely wouldn't have brought that much, but they still would have brought more than if they'd been open. I know there are a lot of people out there smarter than I am, so could somebody please explain what I'm missing?

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

That's how I have always done it.

 

[Nesikep]

I leave the bull with the cows until calving myself.. better a late calf than none at all.

Last year I had a heifer appear to get bred, then maybe slipped the calf or something, and was bred again in october... had a calf last august, and she did a darned good job of raising it... and bred back promptly.. As long as she catches up every time I'll chalk it up to a fluke.. that calf should be worth over $1500 right now.

I'd say pulling the bull OFF THE COWS isn't recommended though

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

You make a valid point. Good food for thought.

 

[Supa Dexta]

Mine go out June 1st and are pulled in Oct or Nov, when the cold is setting in. They winter in a barn though, cows stay out.

One issue could be heifer calves getting bred, by leaving them and the bull out for so long - when they start breeding at 5 and 6mo old.

 

[Nesikep]

That is an issue with the bull being out too long.. I pull the cows with replacement heifers out in September and put them on a greener pasture.. forgot to mention that.. I don't like UhOh's

 

[gus2121]

That is an issue with the bull being out too long.. I pull the cows with replacement heifers out in September and put them on a greener pasture.. forgot to mention that.. I don't like UhOh's

To have Jan-March calves the bulls go in April-June. By the time breeding season should be done some calves are 5-6 months old and mainly the heifers I am keeping. That is why I lut those heifers as soon as I wean them. If you pull those cows with replacement heifers on them, how do you know they are bred??

 

[cow pollinater]

I'm pretty strict about when I pull bulls off. I do it on the exact day when my valley pastures are equal to or stronger than my feed in the hills and I am at the ranch with room on the trailer and bulls I can grab without to much hassle. It's a pretty precise formula.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I'm pretty strict about when I pull bulls off. I do it on the exact day when my valley pastures are equal to or stronger than my feed in the hills and I am at the ranch with room on the trailer and bulls I can grab without to much hassle. It's a pretty precise formula.

Sheer genius right there.

 

[cow pollinater]

I'm pretty strict about when I pull bulls off. I do it on the exact day when my valley pastures are equal to or stronger than my feed in the hills and I am at the ranch with room on the trailer and bulls I can grab without to much hassle. It's a pretty precise formula.

Sheer genius right there.

Do you mean good genius or genius like my wife says it?
I think like Rafter S does. I want them bred up. I only keep heifers out of the first forty five days of calving so after that I really don't care as long as they breed up and where my cows are at even if nothing is wrong it can take a while for the bull to meet up with certain cows. Anything that gets to far spread out is a cull but a cull with calf at side is better than just a cull.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I'm pretty strict about when I pull bulls off. I do it on the exact day when my valley pastures are equal to or stronger than my feed in the hills and I am at the ranch with room on the trailer and bulls I can grab without to much hassle. It's a pretty precise formula.

Sheer genius right there.

Do you mean good genius or genius like my wife says it?
I think like Rafter S does. I want them bred up. I only keep heifers out of the first forty five days of calving so after that I really don't care as long as they breed up and where my cows are at even if nothing is wrong it can take a while for the bull to meet up with certain cows. Anything that gets to far spread out is a cull but a cull with calf at side is better than just a cull.

Good genius of course ole buddy.

 

[cow pollinater]

Good genius of course ole buddy.

Do you mean buddy like the good kind of buddy or buddy like my wife says it?

 

[Rafter S]

Good genius of course ole buddy.

Do you mean buddy like the good kind of buddy or buddy like my wife says it?

I was told that sarcastic comments on the internet are supposed to be purple, so since his weren't I'm sure he was serious.

And it sounds like your wife might occasionally employ sarcasm.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Good genius of course ole buddy.

Do you mean buddy like the good kind of buddy or buddy like my wife says it?

Lol! I give up!

 

[retro]

I guess it is "TO EACH HIS OWN " I like to leave the bulls in 70 days that is 3 heat cycles, If they aren't bred by then I don't want them. They won't bring anymore than a open cow at the sale barn anyway if they were bred late, Besides I don't want my calving season overlapping into my breeding season.

 

[fenceman]

I leave the bull with the cows until calving myself.. better a late calf than none at all.

:nod:

 

[randiliana]

Bulls here get about 50 days to do their job. Then they come home and spend the rest of the summer separate. When we bring the cows home, they go back in the herd, which was pregchecked and culls sold off, until we start calving. Then they are by themselves until breeding season rolls around again.

 

[dirtfarmer1000]

We give a our heifers 22 days to get pregnant, if she cant get it done on the first go she gets sold the day after we preg check 3rd week of august when she is still worth a good buck as a grass animal. Any cows not in community pastures, which is anything 5 and under and old cows get 63 days. Community pasture cows get 6 months with the bulls and any late calving cows are culled at preg checking the first week of Nov. Here in Canada, our winter feed costs are to much to carry a cow that has no calf. As a cattleman, I am in the business of producing beef and a cows job is to get pregnant and have a calf. If she cannot do that, she is no good to me. IMHO I think 3 times trying is more than enough. Keeping heifers to a 21 day cycle helps me in keeping fertile animals in the herdas well they get an extra flushing cycle before rebreeding. We have been doing this for 15 years and I believe we are reaping the benefits. last spring we had 80 percent of 200 cows calve in the first breeding cycle and were done in 60 days. Less headache for me checking on calving cows. As it has been said before, "to each their own"

 

[Jake]

We've done it a lot of different ways. With our spring calving cows late bred cows rarely bring enough over kill price to justify feeding them all winter long. My preferred way of dealing with them would be to pull all the bulls after 65 days and have it be done and over with. But this has been a point of heated debate for many years around our place. The old men wouldn't pull a bull ever if it was up to them, and we wouldn't sell the late calvers either if we had pasture enough for them.

 

[Rafter S]

We've done it a lot of different ways. With our spring calving cows late bred cows rarely bring enough over kill price to justify feeding them all winter long. My preferred way of dealing with them would be to pull all the bulls after 65 days and have it be done and over with. But this has been a point of heated debate for many years around our place. The old men wouldn't pull a bull ever if it was up to them, and we wouldn't sell the late calvers either if we had pasture enough for them.

I can understand that leaving the bulls on the cows won't work well for everyone, especially factoring in hay up north. My hay cost is lower than most, and with my fall calving season it works for me.