Replacement Heifer questions?

[tja477t]

any reason you dont just put a weaning ring on her until youre ready to separate everybody??

 

[branguscowgirl]

but nobody goes out and yanks the fawns, or elk, or buffalo calves off their dams at 7 months.

I agree toughntender. However nobody expects them to continue to raise quality offspring well up into their teens either. It is our demand on these cows that is different from animals in the wild.

 

[toughntender]

You have an excellent point there branguscowgirl. Too often we are asking our cattle to do things that nature would never have allowed in the first place. Such as producing far more milk than the feed resources could ever support. All in an attempt to get higher weaning weights, which again is not natural. Look what that has done to conception rates, feed costs, and ultimately profitability. What percentage of high maintenance females actually make it to 8 or 10 years old let alone their teens. Sometimes I think that we are just trying to buck nature in too many places. But back to the original question, I think it matters more what the cow's BCS is than on the age of the calf.

 

[strihafarms]

Location also plays a large role imo. In our country with substantial cold and snow most years the cows would lose too much condition and the heifers wouldn't make target weight on cow feed alone, Just my thought.

 

[Stocker Steve]

I don't think 8 months is too old to wean. Weaning should be based cow condition, pasture condition, and post weaning management (sales, etc). If the cow is in good shape. You have plenty of feed. And you are waiting for others to get older to wean together. There is no reason to wean just based on age. By the time a calf is that age the actual amount of milk that the cow is producing is getting pretty low.

+1

 

[Nesikep]

This year I weaned very early (most about 6 months old) because they were eating me out of house and home.. Prices were good so I shipped most, kept a bull, a steer, and 3 heifers, as well as 3 july/august calves. As a result, I really stretched my fall pasture and haven't needed to start feeding yet. Had I kept the calves the extra 6 weeks I'd have been feeding for 2 or 3 weeks already I'm certain. The cows are in better condition too, I had a couple that were getting a little boney, so they'll pay me back next year with better calves.. you can always hope. This has enabled me to keep more cows.

I do often keep my replacement heifers on the cows a bit longer, a bit more milk doesn't hurt them if it's not dragging the cow down.