Feed high-quality grass or hay, Accuration ® Liquid Supplement or Accuration ® Hi-Fat Block, and Wind and Rain ® Storm ® Cattle Mineral. Set replacement heifers up to take the place of existing females and be better than your current cow herd. By putting a total program together, you’re not leaving anything to chance.
Full Answer
What should I Feed my 6 month old heifers?
By 6 months, heifers are ready to have fermented feeds make up the majority of their total feed intake, while their grain can be decreased to 1 to 1.5 kilograms (2 to 3 pounds) per day. The goal at this stage is to maximize heifer growth without fattening them.
How much should a heifer weight at breeding?
And heifer weight at breeding? The Fort Keogh research is finding that heifers from the non-restricted group can enter the breeding season at 57% of mature weight, or around 700 pounds. The heifers from restricted dams enter breeding season at 54% of mature eight, or around 650 pounds.
What is the best way to feed a calf?
Instead, he recommends feeding calves a dry TMR that contains concentrate and chopped dry forage such as straw or hay. This TMR can be mixed in large batches and fed throughout the week. Forage particle size should be about 1 inch in length, and it must be well mixed to limit sorting.
What is the best starting feed for cattle?
Purina has a time-tested, traditional starting cattle feed in Precon ® Complete. Precon ® Complete adheres to the “rules of thumb” for a well-balanced starting ration and, better yet, newly weaned calves will “flat out” eat it. Usually, feeding Precon ® Complete for 7-14 days is sufficient on ranch-raised cattle.
How much grain should I feed my bred heifer?
Total intake of hay and distillers would be about 24 lb/hd/da as-fed. After calving using the same hay you would need feed 4.2 lb/hd/da (3.7 lb/hd/da dry matter and distillers 88% dry matter). Intake after calving would be 25 to 26 lb/hd/da as-fed. The lactating diet will be about 12% CP and 62% TDN.
What do you feed a first heifer calf?
Supplement first-calf heifers with grains (energy) like corn, corn silage, or barley before they lose body condition. “Thin heifers don't breed back quickly, if at all,” says Bjurstrom. “If she rebreeds late, it will take several lactations to get her back on track with the rest of the herd.
Can you stop a cow from going into heat?
By administering exogenous hormones, producers can control and synchronize estrus in breeding heifers and cows as well as shorten their estrous cycles.
How can I put weight on my heifer?
5 Ways to Increase Cow WeightTips to Increase and Maintain Cattle Weight. Add Grain into Their Daily Diet. Prevent Illness and Parasites. Add a Weight Gain Supplement. Use Creep Feeders During Weaning. Prevent Cattle Shrink and Stress, Especially During Transport.Explore Farmco Creep Feeders. Meet Farmco Manufacturing.
When should heifers first calf?
The typical heifer will reach puberty at around 12 months of age. This means that the majority of first-calf heifers are bred at 12 – 14 months. Many production heifers are less than two years old when they give birth to their first calf.
How much should I feed my first calf heifer?
A first-calf heifer at peak lactation is going to require at least 58 percent total digestible nutrients (TDN) and 9.3 percent crude protein (CP) in her diet just to maintain what she has. If she needs to gain some weight before breeding, she will probably need at least a 65 percent TDN and 12.1 percent CP diet.
How long does a heifer stay in heat?
between 15 and 18 hoursRecognizing signs of heat. There are several behavioral signs of estrus, also called standing heat. The average heat duration is between 15 and 18 hours but may vary from 8 to 30 hours, according to Penn State Extension. The signs are the same, but generally more pronounced in heifers than in cows.
How long does it take for Lutalyse to work in cattle?
With the two injections cattle can be bred after the second injection either at the usual time relative to detected estrus or at about 80 hours after the second injection of LUTALYSE Injection. Estrus is expected to occur 1 to 5 days after injection if a corpus luteum was present.
What is the best feed for fattening cattle?
What is the best feed for fattening cattle? Barley is the best grain for lot feeding cattle, but wheat, triticale, sorghum, maize, and oats can be used. Oats is not an ideal grain on its own for cattle fattening but can be used with any of the other grains. Hay or silage could be used as the roughage source.
What does beet pulp do for cattle?
A combination of beet pulp and crop residues can be an economical substitute for hay, silage, or pasture in beef cow diets. Beet pulp contains highly digestible fiber making it a nice complement to poor quality residues or forages. It can be used as a component of a supplement or as an ingredient of a complete diet.
What do you feed a heifer?
Feed high-quality grass or hay, Accuration® Liquid Supplement or Accuration® Hi-Fat Block, and Wind and Rain® Storm® Cattle Mineral. Set replacement heifers up to take the place of existing females and be better than your current cow herd. By putting a total program together, you're not leaving anything to chance.
Does corn fatten cows?
Not only do cattle fed corn gain weight faster, but their meat contains more marbling, or fat, along with a more consistent taste. In contrast, meat from grass-fed beef contains fewer calories and far less fat.
What to feed heifers before calving?
The fibre is rechewed by the cow known as cud chewing which produces saliva which helps to buffer the pH in the rumen. The diet of a cow in the weeks prior to calving should contain a balance of all three of these components. This can be achieved with a combination of pasture and hay and / or pellets.
What to feed cows before calving?
Hay should be tested for protein, and cows and heifers should be supplemented accordingly. By-product feeds or straw may be cost-effective in some situations. Some by-product feeds - corn distillers solubles, feather meal, for instance - are high in protein and by-pass protein.
What should you feed a cow with calf?
A high energy feed needs to be supplemented. Corn, distillers grains, gluten feed, 20% cube, or silage may be good choices. Make sure the protein requirement is met, especially when corn or silage is fed. In ranch situations, the supplement may be fed on the ground instead of in bunks.
Should you keep a heifer's first calf?
Time quickly gets away when you're a cow-calf operator, but it's essential to keep the first calf heifers on track. Heifers conceiving early in their first breeding season will have increased lifetime production and efficiency.
Why is energy intake bad for heifers?
Energy intake beyond needs for structural and muscular growth in heifers may cause problems regarding their potential of milk production (e.g. creep feeding). Research has shown that negative relationships between maximum probable producing ability of dams and milk production in offspring do exist.
How old do you have to be to calve a heifer?
Producers should aim to calve their replacement heifers by two years of age. This practice will improve the profitability of the beef operation by offsetting the high costs of feed, labour and investment in raising replacements.
Why are heifers stunted?
Normal body development is retarded, at least temporarily and some heifers may be permanently stunted unless proper nutrition is provided. The heifers' nutrient requirements are greatest during this period because she must maintain her body, nurse a calf, recover from calving, cycle, rebreed and continue to grow.
Why do two year old heifers have difficulty calving?
Calving difficulty in two-year-old heifers is caused by undersized heifers or oversized calves. These are not one in the same. Birth weight is controlled mainly by genetics and is considered to be the primary cause of calving difficulty.
How many pounds of calves do cows produce in a lifetime?
Research from Oklahoma shows that this is indeed true-heifers calving at two years of age produced an extra 330 pounds of calf on a lifetime basis over heifers calving at three years of age.
What are the challenges faced by beef producers?
One of the major challenges facing many beef producers is the development of replacement heifers for the breeding herd. Research has shown that the lifetime productivity of beef females can be increased by calving heifers at two years of age. This goal can be achieved by producers willing to provide the required nutrition and management to ...
Why is visual appraisal important for heifers?
Visual appraisal of heifer body condition can also be important in making adjustments to the feeding program. As mentioned earlier research has indicated that overconditioning replacement heifers can impair future milking ability and if continued could also result in increased calving difficulty. Table 5.
How much should a heifer weigh?
The heifers should weigh 65-70 percent of mature body weight when you begin your artificial insemination program. Specifically, British cattle should weigh at least 65 percent of mature body weight, and Brahman cross cattle should weigh at least 70 percent of mature body weight.
Why do calves yo-yo on creep feed?
With creep feed, calves hit the feed bunk hard up front and then don’t come back the next day…their intake is “yo-yoing”. Because there is insufficient roughage in the creep ration, the calves experience acidosis and don’t feel like eating again until their rumen pH increases.
What is the best body condition score for a first calf heifer?
It is best to have your first-calf heifers in a body condition score of 6 at calving. At least, have them in a body condition score of 5 at calving and moving on an upward plane of nutrition as you move into the breeding season. Why is body condition so important to monitor at calving and through the breeding season?
What is the effect of females in poor condition and/or in negative energy balance during the breeding season?
Females that are in poor condition and/or in negative energy balance (losing weight and condition) during the breeding season have longer post-partum intervals and lower pregnancy rates. Notice that growth of a female is of relatively high importance in nutrient partitioning post-calving.
When is the best time to calve forage?
Usually spring and early summer provide the best forage situation. However, fall-calving can be used successfully if high-quality, cool-season pastures (rye, oats, wheat, etc.) are available for grazing. Always set yourself up to get the most out of your greatest resource, that being your forage base.
Do heifers pick up nutritional slack?
While the dam (mother) of the heifer calf picks up much of the nutritional “slack” before weaning, nutritional management from the time of weaning through first breed up is entirely dependent on the producer’s competence as a manager.
Do heifers need forage?
Sometimes, even when forage conditions are their best, nutrient requirements of heifers may not be met with that forage base. In these cases, supplemental nutrition is critical to a timely, successful breed back. However, the supplementation strategy you use should optimize your forage use.
How to keep calfs growing after weaning?
The key here is to maximize that growth, particularly through feeding adequate levels of milk, while setting the calf up to maintain that growth during and after weaning. To do this, consider the method of reducing milk intake, weaning timing, feed type, water and housing management.
How long do heifers eat slug feed?
They tend to eat all of their feed in the first few hours after delivery and may have an empty bunk for up to 20 hours a day.
How long do calves need to wean?
Calves weaned over a period of a week or less struggle to eat enough solid feed to compensate for the loss in milk, which results in a growth slump. However, by weaning less abruptly over a two-week period, calves are encouraged to eat solid feed earlier in life and thus maintain growth. advertisement.
How old do heifers need to be to breed?
Regardless of the dairy’s methods, heifers should be ready to breed at 12 to 14 months old. Large-breed heifers, like Holsteins, should weigh 350 to 400 kilograms (770 to 880 pounds) at breeding, while smaller breeds should be between 225 and 260 kilograms (495 to 570 pounds) at breeding. To accomplish this, aim for an overall 900-gram (2-pound) ...
How big should forage be for calves?
Forage particle size should be about 1 inch in length, and it must be well mixed to limit sorting. When feeding calves at this stage, it is important to feed and push food up regularly to limit sorting and encourage calves to eat several meals a day, DeVries said.
How old should a calf be to feed slugs?
Feeding calves from 4 to 6 months old.
When do calfs start eating solid food?
DeVries said when calves are fed adequate levels of milk (to maintain equal or greater than 2 pounds per day of growth from milk), they aren’t particularly interested in eating solid foods until they are 6 or 7 weeks old , so weaning age plays a major role in how well calves transition.
How much does a heifer weigh at breeding?
And heifer weight at breeding? The Fort Keogh research is finding that heifers from the non-restricted group can enter the breeding season at 57% of mature weight, or around 700 pounds. The heifers from restricted dams enter breeding season at 54% of mature eight, or around 650 pounds.
Do cows manage less produce offspring?
As they followed the heifer calves into adulthood, becoming part of the cowherd, they found another take-home: “So the short of the story is cows managed with less produce offspring that are probably what you might call more drought resistant or function more favorably with less,” Roberts says.
How much should a Simmental crossbred heifer weigh?
However, a Simmental crossbred should be 800 pounds because at 700 pounds you’ll potentially have 15 percent fewer heifers cycling.
What is the body condition score of a first calf heifer?
They need extra energy and attention. To maintain them at a body condition score 5.5, feed them separately from the rest of the cow herd.
What is the first step in calf growth?
Weaning is your first step to hitting target weight. If you’re feeding calves a commodity mix, you may not see optimal weight gain and calf health. A solid weaning-time nutrition program can ensure calves gain weight and stay healthy. Here are two weaning programs to give calves a jump-start on the growing process:
How much should a simmental crossbred be?
However, a Simmental crossbred should be 800 pounds because at 700 pounds you’ll potentially have 15 percent fewer heifers cycling. Targeting heifers to be the right weight gives them the highest opportunity to become pregnant. Strive for every single animal to reach the target heifer weight at breeding.
Is heifer replacement a long term investment?
Developing replacement heifers is a fancy way to say, “raising your future cows.”. It’s also a long-term investment because the payoff is a better future herd. Maximize your potential return on investment by focusing on four areas: Hit target heifer weight based on breed type.