Weaning some heifers early

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FlyingLSimmentals

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Usually wait until they are 6 months old or a little more. Having a few come in heat early as young as 4 1/2 months. Decided if your gonna cycle that young you're old enough to wean. I think they're some nice ones, hopefully I'll get some pics of them later. I haven't been very active here lately sorry been sick and very busy.
 
Got them pretty close to 6 months before I actually put them up in wean pen. Had two that got penetrated that I had to get some meds for. Had some new fencing put in so didn't have location to separate these young heifers and dams from bull & some young bulls. Fencing Crew have about got all the new tensile fence up now so it should get easier.
 
I usually take the heifers I want to keep as replacements away from the bull, but leave them with momma for a while longer... Depends on their size too, if they're massive at 200 days then no problem, they get weaned, if they were a little later or just a little smaller, I'll leave them on a little longer.
Good feed after weaning is the biggie of course
 
Have pulled the bulls and weaned heifers at 10 months. I think this is the lowest cost approach.
Have also weaned the heifers at 6 months and left the bulls out.
Kinda depends on numbers and breeding. Simis cycle early.
 
I have a few that are well past 6 months closer to 7 or even 8. Bull is still out. Figure when I wean them they will get a shot of lute.
 
Thats a PIA having them cycle that early.

My potential replacements are still out with the mommas. The oldest are Jan calves. I'll catch them this month. They wean so much easier and develope better if they are left out longer. Even when I wean them they will be mixed with young bulls until first of next year.
 
talltimber":2tdvgtu3 said:
No it's not a pia. It's early development. So you are not hoping they are cycling by the time they are as big as their momma

Trying to juggle getting calves away from bulls at 4-6 months old is excessive and adding unnecessary cost.

Why would you be waiting for a heifer to cycle? I can't even imagine a scenario where that is an issue.
 
talltimber":1ufb8p5n said:
Not breeding til they are 18-30 months? seems to not be one either?

30 months? Don't know of any one who breeds at 30 months.

Just because an animal can breed (is cycling) doesn't mean it should.

I don't buy the breed them early deal because those people buy heifer bulls, have higher calving problems, and wean smaller calves that first go round. Id rather wait 6 months, throw them out with the regular bull, and wean a full size calf.

IF you make any money breeding them 6 mo earlier, the peanuts are not worth the risk.
 
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?
 
talltimber":1f52cu6o said:
You are not gonna breed one thats not cycling. Twenty four months for a heifer to cycle? I don't, but you can have two before she calves once, easy, with the right bull the first time. You gonna say the one will bring more than the two now?
calve at 22 mo and again at 34 or
calve the first time at 32-36
Heifer bull yes, more problems? not necessarily.
I am guessing you run a bull with them 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, but the reason why it's not a big deal to leave heifers on them so long?

I'm sorry. I have no clue what you saying. Good luck :tiphat:
 
talltimber":21m4gpbe 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.
 
I'll bow in and bow out. Brute's way is very common in Texas and very similar to mine. I do keep bulls in most of my place's year round. There's a dam far leap between a heifer cycling at 4 to 6 months and breeding at say 18 months.
I would consider a heifer cycling at that age a nightmare and get her off my place immediately. Nothing female cycling that young can be anything but a pita. :2cents:
 
Brute 23":2ugwhhx6 said:
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.

That sounds like it works real good for you. I can see if a guy has some numbers it would be better, so you can put a few even sets together out of your 6 mo season. Maybe they all breed pretty quick and its not that big of a size spread in the calves? I was under the impression, due to studies I had looked at, that it would be very few brahman hfrs cycling that young, 18-20 months. I know some people that wait to 30 months to breed Angus hfrs, Dad was one of them. He'd roll hfrs one season, fall to spring, or vice versa, but he only ran cow bulls too. Worked good for him, but he had enough to put even sets of calves together, 90 day seasons. I am on a 60 season, not very many cows, so I need all mine as close as possible. Calve Sept and Oct, put bulls in Dec 10-12 ish. Cut bull calves mid to late Nov. Pull bulls in Feb., with a hfr age of around 5 mo max. There are not many cycling then, and ones that are, I maybe can pull them to another pasture here on the same place. It's not a problem, I've always got somewhere to go with them, and gentle so I can ease them around and do whatever I need to. I watch them pretty close, so I will have an idea that the cow was already bred anyway by then. I don't have many calves past the first three weeks or so of calving season. If a guy can't handle them, due to time or facilities or whatever, and left small size bulls on a long time, I could see it being a problem. Even if it just meant he needed to lute at weaning. I don't have to do that.
 
callmefence":a5dseg4g said:
I'll bow in and bow out. Brute's way is very common in Texas and very similar to mine. I do keep bulls in most of my place's year round. There's a dam far leap between a heifer cycling at 4 to 6 months and breeding at say 18 months.
I would consider a heifer cycling at that age a nightmare and get her off my place immediately. Nothing female cycling that young can be anything but a pita. :2cents:

Yeah I wouldn't want one cycling before 20 months they might get bred and have a calf. That would suck.
 

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