talltimber":2ugwhhx6 said:
You are not gonna breed one that's not cycling. Twenty four months for a heifer to cycle? I don't breed that young, but I could have two before yours calve once, easy, with the right bull the first time. You're not saying the one calf will bring more than the two now, talking about peanuts or something?
Options
1. calve at 22 mo and again at 34 or
2. calve the first time at 32-36
Heifer bull yes, more problems? not necessarily.
I am guessing you run a bull with yours year round? The reason I ask is that apparently it's tough to keep your type cattle on a 12 mo schedule. I am thinking since you keep heifers on them for ten months that may be the case? Not the cause of not staying on a 12 mo schedule, but the reason why it's not a big deal to leave heifers on them so long, because they are more like on a 13-14 mo schedule?
A lot of people start breeding heifers at 14-16 months old. I prefer to wait until around 20 months old.
We have spring and fall calving properties. Bulls stay one the spring calving properties for 6 mo, then go to the fall calving properties for 6 mo.
If you have a spring born heifer she is better off being moved to the fall property. She will see her first bull around 18-21 months old.
For example, if a heifer is born in the spring (March-May) she could stay in that pasture until she is around 12 months old when the bull comes back. Then technically you can take them to the fall places because there are no bulls there. By the time the bulls go to the fall place they are ready to breed.
Brahman influenced cattle will wean their calves on their own. When you pull the heifers it's more about over coming the mental aspect of being away from their mommas, not actually weaning them off milk.
I always pull my heifers to the home place to cube break and work for a couple months. Before the leave they will understand that I am the hand that feeds them and I decide who stays and who goes.
It is very efficient and easy on me to operate. You don't have to hold bulls in a special bull pen and you technically wouldn't have to hold heifers either. No special heifer bulls. I am debating dropping the fall calving season. At that point it would be a full 24 months before a heifer would be exposed to a bull. Not exactly sure how I want to do that yet.
I've had like 1 calving problem in 12 years. The heifers don't get special treatment other than time to develope. Most all the heifers breed the first month as soon as the bull hits. They raise big calves that are ready to go. None of this you can keep heifers from heifers stuff.
In that system, if a calf is born in March, the bull will be back in June. If she starts cycling at 4-6mo what do you do? That's crazy.