CyberSnooze
Member
I have just weaned 7 heifers. I may keep all of them as future breeding stock. How long do I have to keep them separated from their dams before turning them back in with the main herd?
weaning replacement heifers
- Thread starter CyberSnooze
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We keep ours seperate for 6-8 weeks without a problem of them going back to nursing. Other producers manage them seperate until they're bred and some until after they've calved and are rebred.
If you'll be hand feeding any supplement the youngsters may have problems completing with the older cows and not get their share.
If you'll be hand feeding any supplement the youngsters may have problems completing with the older cows and not get their share.
hillrancher
Well-known member
I keep my heifers separated until they give birth. I will cull up to the time she weans her first calf. If they don't continue to grow, get snorty and ect they take the first ride to the sale barn.
Avalon
Well-known member
Due to space I have to put them back with the herd. I keep them separated 4-6 weeks.
grannysoo
Well-known member
Go for 6 weeks. At 4 weeks, I have had some go back to sucking and you must start over again.
Don't know what kind of facilities you have, but I set mine up this time to wean along a fence. Cows on one side and calves on the other and really liked doing it this way. Less bawling from the calves and everyone seems to get along better. Mom can be on one side of the fence and the calf on the other. Less seperation anxiety. Happy cows make better cows.
(Just have a good fence!)
Don't know what kind of facilities you have, but I set mine up this time to wean along a fence. Cows on one side and calves on the other and really liked doing it this way. Less bawling from the calves and everyone seems to get along better. Mom can be on one side of the fence and the calf on the other. Less seperation anxiety. Happy cows make better cows.
(Just have a good fence!)
I agree at least 6 weeks. Ours stay in a corral for 8 weeks then we turn them out into a neighboring pasture to the cows, with a good tight 5 wire fence. Ours stay separated until they have their first calf, but its more for the convenience of not having to separate them again later.
CyberSnooze":1wb0s9ox said:
I wouldn't put weanling heifers back in with the main herd for the simple reason that, A) weanling heifers need a higher protein/energy type of diet than mature cows to reach their full potential, B) they cannot compete with mature cows for any type of diet with the possible exception of grazing - and that depends on your individual set-up, and C) there is too much potential for the weanling heifers to re-establish the bond with their mother's, and go back to sucking. We kept our weanling replacement heifers seperate from the main herd until they were ready to calve as 2 year olds. Even then, we had a the occasional calf who went back to sucking, and the occasional mother who allowed it.
novatech
Well-known member
The bigger question would be , should you keep all seven?
Only if they will improve the quality of your herd.
On length of time. In the pen for a week, In another pasture for a year. Not just across the fence but far away.
Only if they will improve the quality of your herd.
On length of time. In the pen for a week, In another pasture for a year. Not just across the fence but far away.
pdfangus
Well-known member
msscamp":2ulj9oxu said:
I agree here.
I keep my heifers separated and feed them a little bit daily to get them to a size to be ready to breed at about fifteen months of age to calve as two year olds.
If they are with the cows who don't need feed then you cannot get the nutrition to the heifers.
After AI my heifers go back to the cow herd.
novatech":3g2w52ii said:
well said... and good questions to ask yourself.
I keep mine seperated from the rest of the herd (bulls mainly) until they are at least 14 mths of age.. preferrably 18ths. I am currently keeping 4 replacements back until its the right time to breed so they will calve in the springtime.
Also have two fences between them and the bulls. A definite must!
I still don;t comprehend the feeding of heifers a different diet then the mature cows recieve. If the feed that the cows are getting is of such poor quality that it would restrict the growth of heifers it would presumably also be inadequate for a cow to recover from feeding her previous calf, i.e. gain back body condition, and would be inadequate for her to nurture the calf she's carrying and prodcue high qulaity colostrum.
Our heifers wean any where from the mid 5s to mid 6s depending on if she is out of a heifer or not and by the time they're 14-15 months run in the 900-1000 range. They're gaingin the equivilent of around 50-60% of they're weaning weight from weaning to breeding.
Persoanlly, if they can;t do their job as weaningling to breeding on the forage thats going to be their diet as cows why would I want them.
I think to often people aren;t feeding to the animals requirements as much as to what makes the person feel good.
Through the years we've only had one heifer that went back to nursing when the cows calved in the spring. She would nurse anything that would let her. She wasn;t bad eating either.
Our heifers wean any where from the mid 5s to mid 6s depending on if she is out of a heifer or not and by the time they're 14-15 months run in the 900-1000 range. They're gaingin the equivilent of around 50-60% of they're weaning weight from weaning to breeding.
Persoanlly, if they can;t do their job as weaningling to breeding on the forage thats going to be their diet as cows why would I want them.
I think to often people aren;t feeding to the animals requirements as much as to what makes the person feel good.
Through the years we've only had one heifer that went back to nursing when the cows calved in the spring. She would nurse anything that would let her. She wasn;t bad eating either.
pdfangus
Well-known member
Dun,
I can not speak for others but in my case it is to overcome a managment deficiency.
We fall calve as summer is the hardest time on cattle in our country. We wean the calves in late spring and hope the cows can forage enough to gain back a little condition before calving.
If we get fall rains which this year we didn't we can stockpile fescue and go through most of the winter.
Where I have the heifers I don't have enough grass to run them thru the summer. It is easier and cheaper for me to feed the heifers than it is to acquire and fence more land.
I would love to have more land but it is selling for around 20 grand an acre around here and if anything I may have to sell mine in order to pay the confiscatory property taxes. despite all the doom and gloom the new media is talking about the subdivision and the expensive houses going up seems to have only slowed margianlly around here.
I can not speak for others but in my case it is to overcome a managment deficiency.
We fall calve as summer is the hardest time on cattle in our country. We wean the calves in late spring and hope the cows can forage enough to gain back a little condition before calving.
If we get fall rains which this year we didn't we can stockpile fescue and go through most of the winter.
Where I have the heifers I don't have enough grass to run them thru the summer. It is easier and cheaper for me to feed the heifers than it is to acquire and fence more land.
I would love to have more land but it is selling for around 20 grand an acre around here and if anything I may have to sell mine in order to pay the confiscatory property taxes. despite all the doom and gloom the new media is talking about the subdivision and the expensive houses going up seems to have only slowed margianlly around here.
dun":mrgl6pvo said:
He asked for advice - I told him what worked for us (based on climate, environment, conditions, and expectations), and you told him what worked in you (based, I'm assuming, on the same things). In the end he will have to figure out what works for him, and will achieve what he wants to achieve in his environment, under his conditions, and with his climate.
