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Breeding / Calving Issues
Having too much calving ease?
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<blockquote data-quote="elkwc" data-source="post: 1508852" data-attributes="member: 22295"><p>This is a subject I think about a lot. And this year we had very good results. First I feel nutrition is as important as anything. And changing the mindset of those who have done something a certain way for years is sometimes a slow process. When I first started seeing the lady I'm in a relationship with she like many around her ran most of their cows and bred heifers on wheat pasture. Even using corriente bulls you would pull one now and then. This year they ran on wheat pasture from the time they were weaned until around May 1st. By that time most had moved to the grass anyway. Then they received a shot of multi min and free choice loose minerals along with salt blocks. Then after the fall freeze they received free choice dry hay. Mainly wheat hay, some millet and a few alfalfa bales along with free choice protein tubs and caked 1-2 times a week. Mainly caked just so we could check them and keep them coming up. The first calf a bull had to be pulled because he was out of a new bull and I knew I was pushing the envelope a little using him. The calf was thick and muscular through the shoulders. The other calf by that sire and a heifer was a heifer and born ok. Out of 21 heifers we pulled one. But the change in how we fed and managed the heifers made a lot of difference. This year we are keeping fewer heifers for several reasons. One we have numbers built back up and second being borderline dry we don't want to increase. We are going to breed 6-8 for next spring and then 5-8 in the fall. We are going to use a yearling we saved. His sire was a son of KCF Bennett and wasn't supposed to be a CE sire. He accidently bred some heifers one year that we thought were bred and never pulled a one. Bred several more and never pulled a one. His calves are born thin and lanky but fill out fast and make good calves. We are going to try this son this year and see how it goes. If they calve easy we will use him for a few years. But again management is keeping a heifer maturing and strong but not too fat I feel is the secret at least for us. We have creeped at times during droughts, ect and haven't noticed any correlation between that and having trouble with heifers milking later.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="elkwc, post: 1508852, member: 22295"] This is a subject I think about a lot. And this year we had very good results. First I feel nutrition is as important as anything. And changing the mindset of those who have done something a certain way for years is sometimes a slow process. When I first started seeing the lady I'm in a relationship with she like many around her ran most of their cows and bred heifers on wheat pasture. Even using corriente bulls you would pull one now and then. This year they ran on wheat pasture from the time they were weaned until around May 1st. By that time most had moved to the grass anyway. Then they received a shot of multi min and free choice loose minerals along with salt blocks. Then after the fall freeze they received free choice dry hay. Mainly wheat hay, some millet and a few alfalfa bales along with free choice protein tubs and caked 1-2 times a week. Mainly caked just so we could check them and keep them coming up. The first calf a bull had to be pulled because he was out of a new bull and I knew I was pushing the envelope a little using him. The calf was thick and muscular through the shoulders. The other calf by that sire and a heifer was a heifer and born ok. Out of 21 heifers we pulled one. But the change in how we fed and managed the heifers made a lot of difference. This year we are keeping fewer heifers for several reasons. One we have numbers built back up and second being borderline dry we don't want to increase. We are going to breed 6-8 for next spring and then 5-8 in the fall. We are going to use a yearling we saved. His sire was a son of KCF Bennett and wasn't supposed to be a CE sire. He accidently bred some heifers one year that we thought were bred and never pulled a one. Bred several more and never pulled a one. His calves are born thin and lanky but fill out fast and make good calves. We are going to try this son this year and see how it goes. If they calve easy we will use him for a few years. But again management is keeping a heifer maturing and strong but not too fat I feel is the secret at least for us. We have creeped at times during droughts, ect and haven't noticed any correlation between that and having trouble with heifers milking later. [/QUOTE]
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