Menu
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New media
New media comments
New profile posts
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Forums
Cattle Boards
Beginners Board
Spring Calving vs. Fall Calving
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Help Support CattleToday:
Message
<blockquote data-quote="farmerjan" data-source="post: 1468266" data-attributes="member: 25884"><p>We do both. Started with just spring, then bought some cows, then it just evolved. What most are saying is true. Higher prices in the spring for calves but somewhat higher costs to feed the lactating cow through the winter. Less flies, stress from heat with fall calvers. LESS PREDATORS for us here with fall calvers. Have next to no problems with the dang buzzards in the fall but they are a BIG problem in the spring. </p><p>Although we cull pretty heavy for breeding problems, I do like to be able to salvage a good cow, especially a first calf heifer, that doesn't get bred back, by switching her to the next calving group. They get a ONE TIME switch, but sometimes it just seems a bit too harsh to cull an otherwise good animal that missed getting bred. It is only a 6 month loss of time rather than a whole year if you calve once a year. If allowed to run with the bull all the time she would get bred a little later...so rather than have year round calving we regulate it and just switch them into the next group. We have culled alot of cows and lost 2 pastures due to sale of the land this year so have about 2/3 rds of the cows calving in the spring right now. Since we have more places to put cows out for spring grazing, will probably leave the balance this way. One of the places we lost we calved a big group of fall cows and it has hurt to have to shuffle cows around. We are also holding over some later spring born calves to sell a little heavier in early spring to try to not get kicked in the butt as prices kept dropping here this fall. We have the hay so will see if it pays....</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="farmerjan, post: 1468266, member: 25884"] We do both. Started with just spring, then bought some cows, then it just evolved. What most are saying is true. Higher prices in the spring for calves but somewhat higher costs to feed the lactating cow through the winter. Less flies, stress from heat with fall calvers. LESS PREDATORS for us here with fall calvers. Have next to no problems with the dang buzzards in the fall but they are a BIG problem in the spring. Although we cull pretty heavy for breeding problems, I do like to be able to salvage a good cow, especially a first calf heifer, that doesn't get bred back, by switching her to the next calving group. They get a ONE TIME switch, but sometimes it just seems a bit too harsh to cull an otherwise good animal that missed getting bred. It is only a 6 month loss of time rather than a whole year if you calve once a year. If allowed to run with the bull all the time she would get bred a little later...so rather than have year round calving we regulate it and just switch them into the next group. We have culled alot of cows and lost 2 pastures due to sale of the land this year so have about 2/3 rds of the cows calving in the spring right now. Since we have more places to put cows out for spring grazing, will probably leave the balance this way. One of the places we lost we calved a big group of fall cows and it has hurt to have to shuffle cows around. We are also holding over some later spring born calves to sell a little heavier in early spring to try to not get kicked in the butt as prices kept dropping here this fall. We have the hay so will see if it pays.... [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Cattle Boards
Beginners Board
Spring Calving vs. Fall Calving
Top