Retaining Heifers from First Calvers ?

[Stocker Steve]

I have been calving a lot of heifers recently, and so of course I sometimes get nice heifer calves from 2 year old mothers who don't milk like the mature cows. Two of these heifer calves are calm and show a lot of capacity, but below average on size...

I don't have a fall calving herd any more - - so what are the odds they will catch up enough to calve at 2 years old if I retain them?
Any other ideas here?

 

[gizmom]

We have had good success retaining heifers out of first calf heifers. They start out smaller but they do catch up and by calving you can't tell without looking at paperwork if they are out of a cow or a first calf heifer.

Gizmom

 

[Stocker Steve]

Thanks for the feedback.

I have been strict on weaning weight in the past, but occasionally found myself with a retained heifer from young heavy milking type who did not bred back the next year.

 

[JustSimmental]

We retain some heifers out of first calvers --- not all of course, but many of them. First calf heifers don't join the mature cow herd until they are safe in calf the next go round. They are also fed extra post calving and past breeding season (AI). this seems to work best and it can get expensive at times but we feel it is worth it in the long run.

JS

 

[bigbull338]

if you feed them right theres no reason why they shouldnt calve as 2yr olds.

 

[ousoonerfan22]

We kept a heifer out of a first calf heifer(my best cow now) and I was thinking I screwed up because she didn't grow out and reach her mothers size.Then my hereford bull(young at the time) bred her and two other heifers too early and I had to pull her calf but it was an easy pull.I thought this heifer was too small to raise a good calf but she raised a nice black baldie heifer that has turned out to be best out of last springs calves so I'm keeping her too.

 

[Mid South Guy]

We retain some heifers out of first calvers --- not all of course, but many of them. First calf heifers don't join the mature cow herd until they are safe in calf the next go round. They are also fed extra post calving and past breeding season (AI). this seems to work best and it can get expensive at times but we feel it is worth it in the long run.

JS

Do the same thing and feel it works best for me. If your breeding program is working correctly the heifers from first calvers should have the genetics to out perform the older cows, but the enviorment in which they were raised did not allow them to maximize their growth potential. A first calf heifer has to be on a plane of nutrition that will promote her own growth and produce enough milk for her calf. This is often difficult on summer pasture alone. Whereas mature cows only need to maintain themselves and produce milk, which they can do on summer grass alone in most years. (Spring calving season.)

 

[Galloways1]

We always try to keep heifers out of our first calf heifers. That is the quickest way to improve your herd. We breed our heifers just like we breed our cows.

 

[ANAZAZI]

We always keep all heifers to calve once; and cull from there. My experience is that heifers out of heifers work all right. They may be smaller at first, that evens out bu the time they are three.

 

[JustSimmental]

Mid South
We are a PB operation, which we have a higher standard, usually for brood cows. Once a cow has 2 heifer calves she is sold as we already have enough of her genetics at that time within the herd. Those 3-5 year old cows that are proven breeders < 365 days CI & sell quite well -- never had one return.

JS

 

[Stocker Steve]

We always keep all heifers to calve once; and cull from there. My experience is that heifers out of heifers work all right. They may be smaller at first, that evens out bu the time they are three.

Sounds like a good way to get some data on which are the best. What percent do you cull as 2 1/2 to 3 years olds and where do they go?

 

[cow pollinater]

Genetics are the same regardless of the age of the momma raising the calf. If you're even trying at all to be progressive then your youngest animals should be your best yet.
Money wise, it makes sense to sell the daughters from the OLD cows. They grow better because of the dams age but are genetically behind the potential of your young stock.

 

[ANAZAZI]

Not certain about percentages. Many go after the first calf for sure. You see; when we get a heifer we do not like for some reason she stays around anyway until she has had one calf and comes back condition wise. That way she gives one calf while growing out to full weight. Then sold to slaughter or killed at home for freezer beef, many of the customers like this firstcalver 2 and a half to 3 year old heifer beef. Rarely sell them pregnant with second calf, but it happens.
Also heifers that were previously promising are culled if they wean a sorry calf or come up open or late. We keep what is working, we guess all the time which ones are going to be good, but all get the chance to prove me wrong or right!

 

[ANAZAZI]

This practice means that many of the heifer calves are out of heifers.Almost half of them.
It also means that many are out of cull heifers, thus reducing their chances, not because they are out of heifers, but rather that they are out of culls.
The hard culling of first calvers seem to cause less culling among the older cows.
And the fact that the first choice which ones to keep is delayed until after the first calf makes the need for replacements much smaller. Half of the calves comes out of heifers, so basically most of the new heifers replace the heifers from the year before.

 

[Mid South Guy]

Mid South
We are a PB operation, which we have a higher standard, usually for brood cows. Once a cow has 2 heifer calves she is sold as we already have enough of her genetics at that time within the herd. Those 3-5 year old cows that are proven breeders < 365 days CI & sell quite well -- never had one return.

JS

We're pretty much on the same page here. Although I'm a commerical producer I have always felt commerical producers should manage their cow herd much the same as the top purebred breeders do. I try to replace 10 - 20% of my base herd each year from home raised 2nd calf heifers. Not so much based on genetics, but based on the cows' offspring weaning and yearling performance. Coming from a purebred background I certainly understand what you do and why. It worked well for us also.

 

[JSCATTLE]

I've never kept a calf on a heifer for more than 3 months . Give her time to make a good bag and sell the calf . But our pasture is pretty sorry in the summer time . Not saying it dOesnt work . We just have better luck that way .

 

[novatech]

I have been calving a lot of heifers recently, and so of course I sometimes get nice heifer calves from 2 year old mothers who don't milk like the mature cows. Two of these heifer calves are calm and show a lot of capacity, but below average on size...

I don't have a fall calving herd any more - - so what are the odds they will catch up enough to calve at 2 years old if I retain them?
Any other ideas here?

The age of the calving animal has nothing to do with wither they should be keepers or not. Genes do not change with age. There may be some physical differences due to less milk causing them to be smaller but has nothing to do with how they were bred. This is as long as it does not affect their calving ability.

 

[ANAZAZI]

Some farmers use a different kind of bull on heifers than on cows, and the daughters by the "heifer bull" may be less desirable as cows. If cows and heifers are bred by the same bull; a heifer out of a heifer is just another heifer, perhaps a little smalller at first.

 

[Stocker Steve]

I've never kept a calf on a heifer for more than 3 months . Give her time to make a good bag and sell the calf . But our pasture is pretty sorry in the summer time . Not saying it doesnt work . We just have better luck that way .

We have good pasture, I except heifers to "milk", and so I so leave the calves on till at least winter. I have a put together mostly cross bred cow herd so my heifer results will vary more than some, but hard cull'in is changing this fast:

- - I have a few first calvers (usually alot of herf or limi in the woodpile) that don't milk well. They always bred back and then usually have an average calf the next year. Heifers are slick with BCS 5 or 6, but the calf may get sick when the fall weather changes. I tried some free choice creep with CTC but is did not seem like they all ate it. Any other ideas on avoiding lung problems other than a fall vaccination with Inforce 3?

- - I have a few that milk heavy (usually some Simi or SH in the woodpile, plus 2 angus cow families that seem bullet proof) and they go into winter as BCS4. It seems to work out as a 2 year old but then a few (simi or SH but not the 2 angus cows families) will be open as a 4 or 5 year old. Any thoughts on why they miss at this age?

 

[JustSimmental]

Only thing I can think of out of the simm cows at 4-5 yrs missing is poor genetics or a roller-coaster ride on nutrition doesn't always work well for the bigger milkers.

JS