Question

[rarebreed]

I am new to all of this and still haven't got any cattle yet just taking in all the information and studing everything first. My question is How old do cattle have to be before you can breed them.

Chris

 

[whatabull]

I am new to all of this and still haven't got any cattle yet just taking in all the information and studing everything first. My question is How old do cattle have to be before you can breed them.

Chris

Not a have to be, but heifer about 15 months, I like bulls 2 years first year a half a normal herd. can breed younger but in the long run i think it bites you in the end.

 

[D.R. Cattle]

Most like to breed heifers at 15 months to calve as 2 year olds. Bulls get reliable around 2 years old.

 

[Brandonm2]

I am new to all of this and still haven't got any cattle yet just taking in all the information and studing everything first. My question is How old do cattle have to be before you can breed them.

Chris

The important thing is not age as much as percent maturity. Our GOAL is to breed at 15 months; but if a heifer is not at least 60% of her mature weight and preferably 65% you are better off waiting. This requires a lot of guesswork. A heifer that will become a 1500 pound frame score 7 cow probably needs to be 900 lbs plus at breeding; while a moderate framed cow who will only weigh 1000 pounds can be safely bred at 650 pounds. If your forages are not high quality or you are buying mismanaged stockyard heifers, it may be better to calf them as two and a half year olds or even as 3 year olds. If the heifers are not physiologically mature when they calve they are much more likely to die calving or not breed back. Managing heifers is probably the hardest part of this business.