When to breed.

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E in PA

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Hi, new to this site and this is my first post, so be patient with me. I have lots of experience with dairy cows but practically none with beef. We always bred our holsteins at 15 months. Have heard some people say 2 years for beef cattle. Only reason I've gotted is easier calving. Any truth to this? Any other reason and when do you breed your heifers? thanks in advance.
 
E in PA":1n3w1um1 said:
Hi, new to this site and this is my first post, so be patient with me. I have lots of experience with dairy cows but practically none with beef. We always bred our holsteins at 15 months. Have heard some people say 2 years for beef cattle. Only reason I've gotted is easier calving. Any truth to this? Any other reason and when do you breed your heifers? thanks in advance.
:welcome:
we try to breed our hfrs around 15 months so they calve as a 2yr old
I think others on here have posted links before of studies stating that a hfr will have less calving difficulty if she calves before 30 months
also there is alot of data on if you wait til 2 to breed that it takes several more calves out of that cow to equal the profit as a cow bred to calve when she is 2
 
If a Holstein can calve at 2 there is no reason a beef heifer couldn;t. We breed our heifers at 14-15 months. Some breeds are slower maturing and aren;t ready to breed that yojng, most are
 
I think it depends what time of the year you want them to calve. If they are old enough to and big enough to breed and calve with the rest off the cows in the spring i breed them at 14 to 15 months old .
 
Angus Cowman":1y7qdrex said:
E in PA":1y7qdrex said:
Hi, new to this site and this is my first post, so be patient with me. I have lots of experience with dairy cows but practically none with beef. We always bred our holsteins at 15 months. Have heard some people say 2 years for beef cattle. Only reason I've gotted is easier calving. Any truth to this? Any other reason and when do you breed your heifers? thanks in advance.
:welcome:
we try to breed our hfrs around 15 months so they calve as a 2yr old
I think others on here have posted links before of studies stating that a hfr will have less calving difficulty if she calves before 30 months
also there is alot of data on if you wait til 2 to breed that it takes several more calves out of that cow to equal the profit as a cow bred to calve when she is 2
Good post - we shoot to calve between 22-24 months old. :welcome: from New York
 
you breed them just like you did your holsteins.the only differance is your breeding weight for beef heifers is 750lbs more or less.
 
Should have mentioned they are angus with a touch of maine anjou in them. We never worried about weight, in fact they didn't get weighed at all til they went to the sale barn or butcher. anyways, why under 750#?
 
Weight probably more important than age, per se, and bb338 nailed it.
However, in most cattle, the pubic symphysis - the 'suture line' where the two sides of the pelvis meet - fuses at around 27 months of age, so it's desirable to have heifers calve for the first time before that age - it allows for a little more 'spread' or 'wiggle room' to push a calf out that's not available if those bones have fused.
 
http://www.tamu-commerce.edu/agscience/ ... eifers.doc

Try this link it is a pretty good one ,some inaccuracies but mainly correct .

Welcome :welcome: , from one retired dairy farmer to another. We raise PB Gelbvieh's now, alot of difference between a Holstein operation and a beef, but there are more similarities than not . You are also miles ahead if you had a high producing dairy herd as far a health and nutrition is concerned .. ;-)
 
E in PA":2inqibcv said:
Should have mentioned they are angus with a touch of maine anjou in them. We never worried about weight, in fact they didn't get weighed at all til they went to the sale barn or butcher. anyways, why under 750#?
He wasn't meaning UNDER 750# = just "around" 750# - depends on the breed, that's why it was mentioned you want them 60% of their "expected" mature size.
 
Alot of good advise so here is my two bits worth, asked for or not....We like to let the heifer grow up a bit and shoot for at least 80% of adult weight at breeding and calving at two years (add a month or two). Alot depends on what weather you want to calve in...below zero Decembers and Januarys are not my idea of ideal weather, though we have a pair in the barn that calved on Dec 30th. March is good calving weather up here, cold enough to keep the calves healthy with out worrying about frost bite and finding calfsickles and the spring melt hasn't turned the place into a mud pit yet. Avaiability of good pasture in the spring needs to be considered, when does your grass get up to grazing condition.
I guess that it all depends on your breeding plan and what you want for your herd.
dave Mc
 

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