Retaining 2022 Heifers ?

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I'll add that I only retain heifers that were born within the first few weeks of calving AND have dams that consistently calve early in the season. I track the dams over the years & if she calves early one year, later the next or she's all over the place, I won't keep a heifer from her.
 
I've seen it both ways. The biggest heifers in the fall, aren't always the best replacement heifers.

Neighbors always kept ALL their heifer calves and calved them out. The fall of their 2 year old year, when they have a calf following them, is when they picked their replacements. That worked really well, but not many can do that. I do think the longer you can wait, the better. Our neighbor said it usually worked out that some they would not have kept as calves, were the better heifer and vice-versa.

A good cowman told us when selecting heifer calves in the fall, get them in an alley with someone watching from the rear and someone watching from the front, and observe the way they travel and especially their udder. Even at that age, you should be able to see some folds where their udder would be. Of course, that was before milk epds...but it sure seemed to help for us to do that. We like to pick heifers that are more wedge-shaped (you have to be careful that they aren't pinched in the front, they can be too wedge shaped) and try to never pick a heifer that is bigger in the front end. It's just not a feminine trait.
 
Silver said:
A lot of my better performing older cows were born in the second cycle.
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So? The younger calves will weigh less (on average) which equates to less lbs of beef per unit of land per cow.
Are you going to tell us you keep heifers born in the second cycle from cows born in the second cycle? Oh Canada!
 
Lee VanRoss said:
So? The younger calves will weigh less (on average) which equates to less lbs of beef per unit of land per cow.
Are you going to tell us you keep heifers born in the second cycle from cows born in the second cycle? Oh Canada!
Click to expand...
Your reading compression is still lacking I see.
and I don't believe there is anything the likes of you have to offer me with regards herd productivity.
 
You believing what you write does not make it fact or affect comprehension...
Considering all that has been presented I commend you on how well you do.
Enjoy the day!
 
faster horses said:
I've seen it both ways. The biggest heifers in the fall, aren't always the best replacement heifers.

Neighbors always kept ALL their heifer calves and calved them out. The fall of their 2 year old year, when they have a calf following them, is when they picked their replacements. That worked really well, but not many can do that. I do think the longer you can wait, the better. Our neighbor said it usually worked out that some they would not have kept as calves, were the better heifer and vice-versa.

A good cowman told us when selecting heifer calves in the fall, get them in an alley with someone watching from the rear and someone watching from the front, and observe the way they travel and especially their udder. Even at that age, you should be able to see some folds where their udder would be. Of course, that was before milk epds...but it sure seemed to help for us to do that. We like to pick heifers that are more wedge-shaped (you have to be careful that they aren't pinched in the front, they can be too wedge shaped) and try to never pick a heifer that is bigger in the front end. It's just not a feminine trait.
Click to expand...
I don't choose cows by the size of their udder, I choose them for longevity and how many pounds of calf they wean. I've seen tiny udders wean huge calves and big bags wean undersized calves. Biggest calf I ever weaned was off a first calf heifer with an udder so small it was hard to see.
 
I have realized that my ability to choose replacements sucks, the last few years I have sorted off the crazies and ugliest then turn the rest with bulls for 25 days, pregnancy check after 30 days keep the breeds and sell the opens into the grasser market run. They run from 55-65% bred so you have expose more to the bulls. It's not always the prettiest,oldest or the biggest that gets bred but most likely the most fertile.
 
Stocker Steve said:
Have two heifers that calved so far this spring. One is the same - - calf tries to nurse and she kicks or shakes it off the teat. Calf then ends up sucking on the Bitch's belly.
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Whatever your method for selecting replacements, be highly selective. I would not save replacements from the two heifers you mentioned!
 
I used to sort heifers too often and too soon based mostly on looks. Recently I have tried sorting twice - - once after weaning to catch the too big or too crazy, and once after weaning calves to catch the too slow or not maternal.

I think a good second or third sort would be based on how quick they slicked up in the spring - - to catch the poorly adapted before bull turn out.
 
@Rancher and @Silver, does the colder calving and milder grazing climate where you live have anything to do with better performing 2nd cycle cows - and heifers? Just curious. I have retained late calvers in the past, based primarily on emotion (but I love her!!!), and some of them have caught up and fit in with my 45-day goal (which ain't gonna happen this year). But more often than not, she remains late or all over the place.

That said, there's clearly no guarantee. I've retained all the heifers from one of my fave cows (and her 2nd granddaughter) and they've all calved early, raised very nice calves and bred back right away. Until this year. Her 5th heifer just had her first calf earlier this week - way after the other heifers calved and just over 2 months from the start of calving. She's a great first time mama and hopefully she'll catch up, but gotta be honest, I'm a little disappointed. I saw the bull supposedly breed her 2 other times before she finally settled.
 
We AI almost every cow once then turn out the bulls. I try to keep as many decent replacements from the pasture sires as we can because the pasture sires are sons of our own cows, sired by maternally oriented a.i. bulls. We have not purchased a bull in 15 years except in a straw. We aren't line breeding, but the cow herd is becoming more related with each generation.
 
TCRanch said:
@Rancher and @Silver, does the colder calving and milder grazing climate where you live have anything to do with better performing 2nd cycle cows - and heifers? Just curious. I have retained late calvers in the past, based primarily on emotion (but I love her!!!), and some of them have caught up and fit in with my 45-day goal (which ain't gonna happen this year). But more often than not, she remains late or all over the place.

That said, there's clearly no guarantee. I've retained all the heifers from one of my fave cows (and her 2nd granddaughter) and they've all calved early, raised very nice calves and bred back right away. Until this year. Her 5th heifer just had her first calf earlier this week - way after the other heifers calved and just over 2 months from the start of calving. She's a great first time mama and hopefully she'll catch up, but gotta be honest, I'm a little disappointed. I saw the bull supposedly breed her 2 other times before she finally settled.
Click to expand...
The way I see it is that if a retained heifer is 3 to 4 weeks younger than your oldest retained heifer but breeds to calve in the first cycle then I know she is at least as fertile as the older heifers.
 

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