two years old is too young to have a calf

[inyati13]

I do not have another screen name and I don't mean to be yankin' any body's chain. Sorry if it seems like it. When all I can do is read, all I can get is ideas, not experience. I got the ideas, you got the experience, lets work together.

Sounds good. I enjoy knowing a brief biography. Age particularly. Are you seeking information because you intend to become a beef producer?

 

[Anonymous]

:lol2: well could be some activist like humane group ooh poor cows!
are you vegan ? cows are. i like my salad chewy! :mrgreen:

 

[Anonymous]

:welcome:

 

[hillbillyhammer]

I am thinking if you don't breed a heifer until after her 5th birthday that would allow ample time for her body to fully develop and she would be able to raise a big healthy calf. you know mash them scales good. Then you would be making the big bucks

 

[City Guy]

The reason guys like me can know so much about a subject with which we have no experience is that in the past guys like you wrote down their knowledge and experiences to benefit future generations. I have taken advantage of that but if it offends anyone it's their problem. Please don't make it mine. Now, lets talk about cows.
PS hillbilly hammer: You might be on to something. Maybe we can get a couple years of professional cow wrestling out of them while we wait to breed them.

 

[City Guy]

Mooo: I like my kale medium rare!

 

[cowgirl8]

I am thinking if you don't breed a heifer until after her 5th birthday that would allow ample time for her body to fully develop and she would be able to raise a big healthy calf. you know mash them scales good. Then you would be making the big bucks

Do you know what a headache a heifer is if she doesn't have a job.

 

[frieghttrain]

:lol2: well could be some activist like humane group ooh poor cows!
are you vegan ? cows are. i like my salad chewy! :mrgreen:

Calves drink milk :roll: :lol:

 

[Ryder]

I do not have another screen name and I don't mean to be yankin' any body's chain. Sorry if it seems like it. When all I can do is read, all I can get is ideas, not experience. I got the ideas, you got the experience, lets work together.

Theory can be great but reality is greater.
If you don't have any experience and want to learn then ask questions. But leave your theories and opinions at home.
Several that know reality have answered. Get the cows bred and calves on the ground.

 

[Rafter S]

Selling the first calf at 60 - 90 days old, as I do, allows them to breed back quickly and finish growing without the calf pulling them down.

Are you saying you sell calves from first calf heifers at 60-90 days? Interesting thought, simply because first calf heifers, for me, are usually smaller calves at weaning, second calves are much better. But my first thought, if you sell your first calves early, is how do you keep your calving window narrow, unless you calve year round.

I don't calf year around. My heifers calf at the same time as my mature cows, so I'm selling their calves about the same time I turn my bulls out. They'll often breed back within a week or so, which puts them right back with the other cows.

 

[City Guy]

Ryder; I joined this site because it is a discussion group first and a Q&A site only when necessary. If I want to know what medicine to use for a certain ailment I can ask a vet or the guy at the animal health store. But what I want to know is how the animal got the ailment in the first place and what can be done to prevent it and that takes discussion-the "in-your-face, step-on-toes, open-my-eyes, down-and-dirty" kind of discourse that actually makes for meaningful change.
Thomas Jefferson said "Question everything......." That's all I'm doing.

 

[Banjo]

Consider this...sutures of pelvic bones fuse and are ossified at around 27 months. If you can get that heifer bred and calved out prior to that point in time, there is more 'wiggle room', if you will, for a calf to pass through the birth canal. The fact that those sutures(junctions between the different bones that make up the pelvis) are not fused, allows for more stretching/spreading than if they were fused and unyielding.

That is a very interesting bit of information. I did not know that. I'll have to share that with a friend of mine who was telling me they were starting to let their heifers get older ......like 2 years old to breed them.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Consider this...sutures of pelvic bones fuse and are ossified at around 27 months. If you can get that heifer bred and calved out prior to that point in time, there is more 'wiggle room', if you will, for a calf to pass through the birth canal. The fact that those sutures(junctions between the different bones that make up the pelvis) are not fused, allows for more stretching/spreading than if they were fused and unyielding.

That is a very interesting bit of information. I did not know that. I'll have to share that with a friend of mine who was telling me they were starting to let their heifers get older ......like 2 years old to breed them.

I found this to be a very informative statement as well. Too bad the city feller won't take heed.

 

[Koffi Babone]

The most important criteria for breeding a heifer is not age but rather size (and weight). Different breeds will have different target weights.

"Generally, a heifer should be at 60 per cent of her mature body weight when first breeding occurs. The recommended weight for a breeding age Holstein heifer is 395 kilograms (870 pounds), and the recommended height 127 centimetres (50 inches). Subpar nutrition and disease in the first few months of her life will greatly affect whether she meets these growth targets."

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/liv ... heifer.htm

http://beefmagazine.com/blog/what-s-bes ... ef-heifers

Why is 2 yrs the ideal age at first calving?

"Age at First Calving

Producers should aim to calve their replacement heifers by two years of age. This practice will improve the profitability of the beef operation by offsetting the high costs of feed, labour and investment in raising replacements. To produce the maximum pounds of calves in her lifetime, a cow must calve each year starting as a two-year-old. Research from Oklahoma shows that this is indeed true-heifers calving at two years of age produced an extra 330 pounds of calf on a lifetime basis over heifers calving at three years of age."

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/liv ... 67.htm#Age

"Nutrition and Development of Replacement Heifers

Optimum reproductive performance and lifetime productivity of a cow are clearly tied to proper nutritional management of replacement heifers during growth and development of structure and reproductive function.For heifers to reach puberty at 14-15 months of age, they must be adequately grown, but not overconditioned. Three factors associated with puberty in the replacement heifer are weight, age and breed. Weight is thought to be the major determining factor affecting puberty in heifers at 14-15 months of age. Larger, later maturing breeds reach puberty at an older age.Producers, who have the most control over weight gain in their cattle, should establish target weights at which heifers are to be bred and develop a feeding program to allow heifers to reach that goal in good condition. Target weight will vary with each breed."

Please refer to:

"Table 1. Weight at Which 14-15 Month Old Heifers Reach Puberty.

Replacement beef heifers should attain 65 to 70% of their potential mature weight by the time they are bred at 14-15 months of age. This would mean that heifers should gain an average of 1.25 to 1.75 lb. per day from weaning to first breeding or 250 to 350 lbs. during the first winter (depending on breed). For most breeds and crosses, heifers should weigh from 650 to 850 lbs. at breeding time."

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/liv ... #Nutrition

 

[City Guy]

Tennessee Tuxedo; I too found Lucky_p's post to be quite informative. In fact it has come close to changing my mind. But since I have no heifers to breed, I am in no hurry--the jury is still out.
If you will re-read my introduction statement you will see that my last (and most important) words were "feel free to change my mind" I meant it.

 

[M-5]

City guy , asking questions is fine reading information put out by university's or experts is fine. Every single source will tell you it is only a guide and may not apply to every operation. You can not replicate the study , soil conditions vary all over the country as well as weather. There is no absolute way of raising cattle. Best practices do apply everywhere but how you achieve that is relitive to your area. I can argue a heifer calving at 2 yrs old then waiting till she is 3.5 for second calf. I had that happen here and she has turned out to be one of my better cows. Will I do that again probably not but I have a sucess story so I could recommend it if someone wanted to listen to my advice.

 

[angus9259]

Tennessee Tuxedo; I too found Lucky_p's post to be quite informative. In fact it has come close to changing my mind. But since I have no heifers to breed, I am in no hurry--the jury is still out.


If you will re-read my introduction statement you will see that my last (and most important) words were "feel free to change my mind" I meant it.

This would be like me joining a quilting forum to discuss the use of the color green next to red in a paisley ensemble (since I don't quilt).

I have remarkably no interest in helping you change your mind in this regard. Since you have no cattle nor, do I imagine intend to get any, me changing your mind relative to this topic contributes nothing to society, the welfare of cattle nor the profit of your operation. If you think 3 years is best for your non existent herd, then three years it is for you. Without having any heifers you're likely to be fine either way.

Back to my quilts.....

 

[M-5]

Tennessee Tuxedo; I too found Lucky_p's post to be quite informative. In fact it has come close to changing my mind. But since I have no heifers to breed, I am in no hurry--the jury is still out.


If you will re-read my introduction statement you will see that my last (and most important) words were "feel free to change my mind" I meant it.

This would be like me joining a quilting forum to discuss the use of the color green next to red in a paisley ensemble (since I don't quilt).

I have remarkably no interest in helping you change your mind in this regard. Since you have no cattle nor, do I imagine intend to get any, me changing your mind relative to this topic contributes nothing to society, the welfare of cattle nor the profit of your operation. If you think 3 years is best for your non existent herd, then three years it is for you. Without having any heifers you're likely to be fine either way.

Back to my quilts.....

Angus , very good point but unfortunately these kind of people spew their views as experts to the non ag folks or even worse join a anti ag group

 

[Lucky_P]

I'd love all my heifers to calve out at 24 months... or by 27 months. Not all do. Many will have a 'hiccup' somewhere along the line... either not breeding at 15-17 months... or not breeding back in time as a 1st-calver. With dual fall/spring breeding calving seasons, we don't necessarily hesitate to roll one from one season to the other... you don't lose much time. A second 'hiccup' moves 'em to the cull list.
Sure, some will say "You're not selecting for fertility!" - and maybe I'm not. But... it's what we do; we're making money with them... and I'm not dependent upon the cattle for survival income, anyway.

 

[Banjo]

I'd love all my heifers to calve out at 24 months... or by 27 months. Not all do. Many will have a 'hiccup' somewhere along the line... either not breeding at 15-17 months... or not breeding back in time as a 1st-calver. With dual fall/spring breeding calving seasons, we don't necessarily hesitate to roll one from one season to the other... you don't lose much time. A second 'hiccup' moves 'em to the cull list.
Sure, some will say "You're not selecting for fertility!" - and maybe I'm not. But... it's what we do; we're making money with them... and I'm not dependent upon the cattle for survival income, anyway.

So what happens after 27 months and they have already had a calf? Does the pelvis bones/ birth canal still have that extra wiggle room from then on even after it fuses together?