Weaning weights
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Dave
Well-known member
There will be a lot of variation in weaning weights base on a number of different things. Your location, the quality of your grass, calving time, age at weaning....... the list goes on. For me, I calf in February and March. I wean in early October. Any cow who doesn't wean a 600 pound calf will get a trip to town. And I am just a grass and hay with a little protein added during the winter.
Creep feeding only pays if you have a cheap source of feed.
Creep feeding only pays if you have a cheap source of feed.
Stocker Steve
Well-known member
1) Between 400 and 800 pounds. ;-)
2) Depends on sex, feed cost, cattle value, length of time on feed, pasture quality and... Creep feeding does pay when calves are $2.25/lb..
A high profit operation is likely to wean an average wt. calf which was on creep for only a short period of time. I used home grown oats for creep this year. The pasture was good so the calves did not really eat much of it till the snow started.
2) Depends on sex, feed cost, cattle value, length of time on feed, pasture quality and... Creep feeding does pay when calves are $2.25/lb..
A high profit operation is likely to wean an average wt. calf which was on creep for only a short period of time. I used home grown oats for creep this year. The pasture was good so the calves did not really eat much of it till the snow started.
Aaron
Well-known member
By creep feeding, your subsidizing the welfare cows and cheating the truly great cows in your herd. It takes your herd selection towards a bunch of grain junkies. Take them off the fix and your weaning weights will plummet like a rock.
If your only getting 600 lbs on creep feeding, your wasting your time and money. Cows can wean 600 lbs without creep. Creep is to produce the 750 to 800 lb monsters, or pump up a bunch of naturally-pathetic cattle.
If your only getting 600 lbs on creep feeding, your wasting your time and money. Cows can wean 600 lbs without creep. Creep is to produce the 750 to 800 lb monsters, or pump up a bunch of naturally-pathetic cattle.
Backbone Ranch
Well-known member
There is definitely a variation in the weaning weights of bull and heifer calves. The genetics also play a role. Our heifers are weaned at 466 to 584 lbs and our bulls between 540 and 682 lbs. Age can also play a role, but it isn't as substantial as the other factors that Stocker Steve mentioned.
We have around 250 cAlves every year so if I can gain a little weight here and there it will make a big difference .. We have recently purchased a set of scales and I think it will help me figure it out.. I am curious to see if feeding my month old calves will be worth the expense .. Any thoughts?
shadyhollownj
Well-known member
I've always been told dont feed calves less than 3 months old. Moms milk is all they need until then. The calf cant digest the grain well enough at a month old.
polledbull
Well-known member
I sat in on a meeting just recently , creep feeding was one topic, and it was shown to pay big returns , especially with the prices of calves today , and the cost to put on a pound of gain.
Feeding a calf starter to a calf in the first week is great for a calf's stomach. It is even suggested that Rumensin be an ingredient in the feed to help with coccidiosis and food nutrient utilization.
This also has a lot to do with the quality of the pasture they are grazing in. But it depends on what your goals are with your cattle. If you have some high powered seed stock cattle; or have a source of lower priced feed to get the young cattle that were born in the fall, as their need for nutrients gets higher before the grass kicks in by spring.
Calves can start digesting grain within a few days, mostly a calf starter. Or a very good calf feed, mostly one with a bit of Distillers grain in it. It just depends on how much money you want to put in the calves, and what you are raising.
If I was raising seed stock cows, and my pastures were not great, I would creep feed. And in the fall, if I have calves born, I creep feed these calves, as milk is not enough after a while and they cannot digest hay until they are 8 weeks of age. When the clover comes up, it has more protein in it than the feed I give them, so I stop the feed.
This is something that I would consider doing if I did not have clover pasture. I would set aside several acres, and plant clover in this area. I would run an electric fence around this area, and put the wire up high enough that the cows could not go under the wire, but the calves could go in. I would definitely plant Durana clover. The calves could graze the clover, and this would add pounds to the calves.
Also, the mineral I would keep out to my cattle would be Farmer's Co-op Supreme Mineral w/ Rumensin. It can be fed free choice, it cuts frothy bloat down greatly. I do keep a bale of hay out to buffer the clover. This mineral also helps the cows with utilizing the pasture that they are grazing.
I do wish they made this in the Ultimate mineral line as 100% of the selenium is a yeast. With the Supreme, only 67% is a yeast. Also, the copper is a bit lower, but still within a very safe limit. It is much higher than most other minerals.
For those in the areas of Farmers Co-op, the item number is 96561.
http://www.ourcoop.com/productcatalog/Main/PdfViewer.aspx?el=58331
They do have a less expensive line of mineral, but it has less copper and zinc in the mix. Also, the nutrients most likely are not chelated or organic based. I like to know that they are chelated and organic based as they will be absorbed before they are passed through the cow.
This also has a lot to do with the quality of the pasture they are grazing in. But it depends on what your goals are with your cattle. If you have some high powered seed stock cattle; or have a source of lower priced feed to get the young cattle that were born in the fall, as their need for nutrients gets higher before the grass kicks in by spring.
Calves can start digesting grain within a few days, mostly a calf starter. Or a very good calf feed, mostly one with a bit of Distillers grain in it. It just depends on how much money you want to put in the calves, and what you are raising.
If I was raising seed stock cows, and my pastures were not great, I would creep feed. And in the fall, if I have calves born, I creep feed these calves, as milk is not enough after a while and they cannot digest hay until they are 8 weeks of age. When the clover comes up, it has more protein in it than the feed I give them, so I stop the feed.
This is something that I would consider doing if I did not have clover pasture. I would set aside several acres, and plant clover in this area. I would run an electric fence around this area, and put the wire up high enough that the cows could not go under the wire, but the calves could go in. I would definitely plant Durana clover. The calves could graze the clover, and this would add pounds to the calves.
Also, the mineral I would keep out to my cattle would be Farmer's Co-op Supreme Mineral w/ Rumensin. It can be fed free choice, it cuts frothy bloat down greatly. I do keep a bale of hay out to buffer the clover. This mineral also helps the cows with utilizing the pasture that they are grazing.
I do wish they made this in the Ultimate mineral line as 100% of the selenium is a yeast. With the Supreme, only 67% is a yeast. Also, the copper is a bit lower, but still within a very safe limit. It is much higher than most other minerals.
For those in the areas of Farmers Co-op, the item number is 96561.
http://www.ourcoop.com/productcatalog/Main/PdfViewer.aspx?el=58331
They do have a less expensive line of mineral, but it has less copper and zinc in the mix. Also, the nutrients most likely are not chelated or organic based. I like to know that they are chelated and organic based as they will be absorbed before they are passed through the cow.
aprille218
Well-known member
Steers weaning weight averaged 689 calved in mostly April, no creep , native pastures. We don't creep due to the input price of it.
