Retaining Heifers in a Hot Market
- Thread starter Drose
- Start date
chevytaHOE5674
Well-known member
simme
Old Dumb Guy
AI success rate for me varies from perfect to pitiful over the years. Pretty much the same cattle (but just a few), same methods, same management. I have not found anything to correlate to the success or failure. I try to do everything right, but do not check the horoscope or phase of the moon prior to AI. Maybe that is it.
chevytaHOE5674
Well-known member
Same we had 2 years at 100% and a few other great years and other years of rather pitiful conception rates.
simme
Old Dumb Guy
Over the years I have noticed that a few cows are much more likely to settle on first AI service - same cows every year. I suspect that culling for that trait and retaining replacements from those cows would lead to better AI success. Another advantage of retaining from the herd.
Might seem that culling for every trait would result eventually in a perfect herd. Problem is that no one lives long enough to get to that point. And they would probably end up with no cows left before they got the first perfect one.
Might seem that culling for every trait would result eventually in a perfect herd. Problem is that no one lives long enough to get to that point. And they would probably end up with no cows left before they got the first perfect one.
Silver
Well-known member
I remember as a kid we were pregnant testing which is also when we did our culling. Dad was culling pretty heavy and Grandpa told Dad if he didn't lighten up all he would have left was his favourite cow.
Travlr
Well-known member
One of the reasons I've always looked for bulls from older cows. Proven producers on the male side too.
mwj
Well-known member
$4300 heifer pairs at Macon Mo. last night. They will go broke keeping back those heifer calves to breed.
I'm having a very hard time selling heifers right now. I'm probably going to hold every thing I can.
We have been in a several year dry spell. Numbers are down across the board with in a pretty big area. With these calf prices, the heifer market, especially for breds, could really break out if we get a wet year. People are going to be chomping at the bit for cattle if pastures are green this spring.
We have been in a several year dry spell. Numbers are down across the board with in a pretty big area. With these calf prices, the heifer market, especially for breds, could really break out if we get a wet year. People are going to be chomping at the bit for cattle if pastures are green this spring.
Dave
Well-known member
I knew a guy who always held back all his heifer except any dinks. Bred them all. I had a vet who was real good with ultra sound. He would keep the earliest calving ones with bull calves and sell the rest as bred heifers.
chevytaHOE5674
Well-known member
In the past I have kept all the heifers except disks. Bred them all then draw blood at a few intervals to preg check and keep the early ones, then sell the rest as bred. Many trips thru the chute to draw blood, and sort a few times, got too labor intensive with 3 little kids and her working M-F 40 hours a week recently.
The wife and I have talked about buying an ultrasound machine and learning to use it well then doing the same thing again only with ultrasound for instant results and sorting.
The wife and I have talked about buying an ultrasound machine and learning to use it well then doing the same thing again only with ultrasound for instant results and sorting.
Silver
Well-known member
We did that, made good money doing it too.
They have instant tests now. You don't have to send the blood off.
chevytaHOE5674
Well-known member
I know but they aren't quite instant. Takes up to like 10 minutes for results in some cases. That's a long time to leave a cow in the chute to decide if she's bred and going one way or open and going another.
Nesikep
Well-known member
That's what I might talk to my friend Clint about doing.. he has 2 dinks and 2 nice steers, He sells a lot of hay as well so I don't think he needs the cash from them right now, and he has the hay to feed, we have the bull power for them next spring, and the nice heifers are quite nice, they're all nice and docile so shouldn't be a hassle to keep them
Nesikep
Well-known member
I've kept a lot more heifers than I actually wanted, and sometimes the best performing calves don't perform all that well their 2nd year and I've changed my mind a few times.. sometimes a smaller calf grew really well, or a really nice calf just turned to crap
One of my better cow families came from an original cow we bough from a friend of mine. To me, the heifer was the goofiest one in the group. She had this redish tint and a ball of hair on a not on her head. She looked unproportional and hairy. She was heavy boned though had a good frame. Her mom looked th same way. It was one of my first couple groups I had picked through on my own. We had plenty of grass and hay and were expanding so I just took a big group and said I'll figure it out as we go. That next spring she was a stand out. Still redish and the patch of hair but built stout, not big, but stout. I keep heifer out of them every year. Every time I look at them and laugh because they just aren't that appealing but they raise big calves and hold up.
I stumbled right in to that deal.
Nesikep
Well-known member
One of my better cow families came from an original cow we bough from a friend of mine. To me, the heifer was the goofiest one in the group. She had this redish tint and a ball of hair on a not on her head. She looked unproportional and hairy. She was heavy boned though had a good frame. Her mom looked th same way. It was one of my first couple groups I had picked through on my own. We had plenty of grass and hay and were expanding so I just took a big group and said I'll figure it out as we go. That next spring she was a stand out. Still redish and the patch of hair but built stout, not big, but stout. I keep heifer out of them every year. Every time I look at them and laugh because they just aren't that appealing but they raise big calves and hold up.
I stumbled right in to that deal.
She sounds a little like my first cow that hillsdown called ugly
Yeah, she wasn't that pretty but she sure made good heifers, and her heifers made good bulls, and now my whole herd is in some way from her..
She's 14 years old here
her oldest daughter at 16 (Salers sired)
And now I just have great great great great granddaughters, and I'm very happy with them
I talked with a guy a few weeks ago about AIing a group of heifers. You drop them off for two weeks and he syncs them up then AIs them to his bulls. Cost was $150 a head which I didn't think was bad, he says avg conception rate is 60%.
