Will a Cattle Herd Naturally Split into Two Herds as it Grows?

[Bullitt]

If a person had a lot of land and a cattle herd, will a cattle herd naturally split into two herds as the number of cattle in the herd increases?

At what point will a cattle herd split into two herds? Or will the herd just stay one large herd? Does the number of bulls have an impact?

I realize most people sell off cattle and split up cattle so they may never give a herd a chance to grow this way.

 

[Aaron]

Depends on land base, fencing and management. Some guys will run one giant herd at breeding, say 100 cows and just run multiple bulls for a long season. I will take 60 cows and break them into 3 or 4 groups to keep cow to bull ratios low and keep breeding season tight at 2 cycles.

 

[Bullitt]

Depends on land base, fencing and management. Some guys will run one giant herd at breeding, say 100 cows and just run multiple bulls for a long season. I will take 60 cows and break them into 3 or 4 groups to keep cow to bull ratios low and keep breeding season tight at 2 cycles.

I was just wondering if there were hundreds of cattle together, would they break themselves up into smaller groups on their own? If there were multiple bulls, would each bull break away with some of the cows. It would be similar to a bull elk and his herd of cows.

 

[Lazy M]

Depends on land base, fencing and management. Some guys will run one giant herd at breeding, say 100 cows and just run multiple bulls for a long season. I will take 60 cows and break them into 3 or 4 groups to keep cow to bull ratios low and keep breeding season tight at 2 cycles.

I was just wondering if there were hundreds of cattle together, would they break themselves up into smaller groups on their own? If there were multiple bulls, would each bull break away with some of the cows. It would be similar to a bull elk and his herd of cows.

Depends on the bulls and the time of year. For one of our herds the 3 bulls each have about a third of the herd with them at different parts of the pasture whenever it's breeding season. It seems that the same cows kind of stick to the same bull each year. After the cows are bred the herd combines back up.
Our other herd with 4 bulls seem to stay all together all the time, but we've had alot of bull-turnover the last several years for this herd so the cows probably haven't had enough time to pick their favorites..

 

[5S Cattle]

You think about some weird **** man.

 

[callmefence]

There's thousands of head on ft hood army reservation. Wearing many different brands. They roam about 600 square miles. They are in scattered groups of different brands. The bulls go where a open cow takes em I reckon.
I don't think your to far. Come on down sometime.

 

[Stocker Steve]

we've had alot of bull-turnover the last several years for this herd so the cows probably haven't had enough time to pick their favorites..

What does a cow seem to want in a favorite bull?

 

[Lazy M]

we've had alot of bull-turnover the last several years for this herd so the cows probably haven't had enough time to pick their favorites..

What does a cow seem to want in a favorite bull?

Well use your imagination I guess

 

[lithuanian farmer]

If you have very big pastures and a single calving time, then, I guess, there is no need to split a herd.
We will split our herd into two this year. One herd will be with winter-spring calved cows, another will be with summer-fall calving cows and heifers. Have one bull, so at first he'll go to the first herd, mainly as a clean up bull after AI. Later, in fall, he'll come to the second herd, but again there are going to be some girls already AI'ed.
We don't have very massive fields and it'll be more efficient if there will be more herds grazing. Won't need to move them very fast.

 

[Silver]

I think terrain, pasture conditions, feed situation determines that. Our cows spend the summer in mostly forested hilly conditions with some tame pastures of less than 200 acres each. They seem to spread themselves out depending on where they find good grazing. Bulls seem to manage to get the job done regardless. Sometimes I worry when I see 6 or 7 bulls with one group and only 1 or 2 with another group, but it seems to work out.

 

[Aaron]

we've had alot of bull-turnover the last several years for this herd so the cows probably haven't had enough time to pick their favorites..

What does a cow seem to want in a favorite bull?

Horns in a Hereford
Nuts in an Angus
Docility in a Gelbvieh.

That should do it. 3....2.....1.... op: op: op:

 

[callmefence]

we've had alot of bull-turnover the last several years for this herd so the cows probably haven't had enough time to pick their favorites..

What does a cow seem to want in a favorite bull?

Well use your imagination I guess

Long ears

 

[TexasBred]

we've had alot of bull-turnover the last several years for this herd so the cows probably haven't had enough time to pick their favorites..

What does a cow seem to want in a favorite bull?

Satisfaction. ;-) ;-) :lol: :lol:

 

[ALACOWMAN]

The only time I've seen them separate naturally was a commercial herd of angus cross and Charolais...the chars were introduced later.. And stayed grouped together...but don't count on a group becoming a nation all to theirselves.. Never seen a bunch threw out in a pasture and choose sides...they have a herding mentality......what little mentality they got..

 

[ALACOWMAN]

we've had alot of bull-turnover the last several years for this herd so the cows probably haven't had enough time to pick their favorites..

What does a cow seem to want in a favorite bull?

Satisfaction. ;-) ;-) :lol: :lol:

My neighbors favorite bull, seems to be on my side of the fence..if he don't hurry up a get a decent bull,I'm gonna lose what little mind I got left..

 

[snoopdog]

we've had alot of bull-turnover the last several years for this herd so the cows probably haven't had enough time to pick their favorites..

What does a cow seem to want in a favorite bull?

Money