All feeds need some grain in them (corn preferably), and usually also include some wheat middlings and cottonseed meal or soybean meal as the primary protein source. Just remember your feeding heifers and no feedlot steers and feed accordingly. You want them to grow up not out.
How do you manage a yearling cattle?
Managing Yearling Cattle. Separate weanlings by sex, as after 8 months of age some accidental breedings may occur. A heifer should not routinely be bred before 18 months of age unless she is of adequate weight (780# if adult weight will be 1200#); a few heifers may be at this weight by 14 months.
What should I Feed my two-year old first-calf heifers?
Two-year old first-calf heifers in good body condition. Prior to pasture, top quality forage must be fed with adequate supplementation of energy (grain) to ensure adequate continued growth, milk production and early conception.
How much ADG do I need to gain heifers?
The most economical gain is put on with your greatest resource…your forage base. During the spring and early summer, pasture forage can sustain the 1.2-1.5 lb ADG typically needed for successful heifer development. Unfortunately, the forage conditions can change dramatically with changes in temperature, rainfall, and season.
What do you need to know about bred yearling heifers?
Daily Nutrient Requirements of Bred Yearling Heifers (Last 1/3 pregnancy) Vit. A (KIU) Calving difficulty in two-year-old heifers is caused by undersized heifers or oversized calves.
How much should I feed my yearling heifer?
The pregnant yearling heifer should continue to gain during her second winter at a rate of approximately one pound per day up to calving....The Pregnant Yearling.Ration 120 lb. legume hay (18% CP)Ration 326 lb. corn silage (8% CP)9 lb. legume hay (18% CP)Ration 439.5 lb. mixed haylage (15.8% CP)2 more rows•Feb 12, 2021
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.
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 is the best feeding for yearling to slaughter?
Feed a free choice mixture of 80 percent ground sorghum grain, 10 per- cent protein supplement and 10 percent salt as cattle are placed on pasture and continue until slaughter weight is reached. Cattle will consume this mixture at approximately 1 percent of their body weight daily.
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.
What to feed weaning heifers?
Examples of post-weaning diets which beef producers are using:high quality legume based silage (lucerne silage with 60 per cent dry matter)lucerne hay, 30 per cent grain and some soy protein or canola meal.lucerne pasture.high protein and energy calf or heifer rearer pellets.
Do cows need grain everyday?
The grain finished cattle need to be checked regularly and fed daily. They live in the pasture their entire lives and also receive natural grain during the last 6 months of their life. It's up to them on if they eat the grass or grain.
Is corn high in protein for cattle?
Corn can be used in many different types of backgrounding and finishing diets, and it can serve as a supplement in forage-based diets for beef cows. However, corn is relatively low in protein and high in starch, which can affect forage utilization negatively, especially in diets based on lower-quality forages.
What do you feed beef heifers?
Best Healthy Feed for Beef Cattle1) Grain Supplement. Grain can get cattle growing quickly and can help cattle get fat. ... 2) Hay. Hay can provide every important nutrient for cattle, but it has to be picked at the height of its nutrient richness À” that is, before it becomes too dry. ... 3) Pasture and Forage. ... 4) Concentrates.
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 do you feed a yearling bull?
A yearling bull should be a BCS 5.5 to 6.5 at the beginning of the breeding season. This will require a diet that contains approximately 12 percent crude protein and 65 percent TDN. With free choice access to medium quality grass hay, about six to 10 pounds of grain will be required.
How much corn does it take to finish a cow?
Corn production requirements Depending on the size and weight of the cattle, the amount of forage available for growing lighter calves, access to low-priced byproducts and other factors, 50 to 80 bushels are typically required to finish one steer.
What do you feed a cow calf?
Calf starter feeds should be dust-free, highly palatable feeds containing 75 to 80 percent total digestible nutrients (TDN), 15 to 20 percent crude protein, and adequate minerals and vitamins. They should be coarsely ground, rolled, or pelleted to facilitate feed intake and rumen development.
How do you feed a heifer?
Heifers should be fed diets greater than 10.5MJ ME per kg DM and the appropriate protein to ensure that they meet liveweight targets. Heifer liveweight gain is the best indication of meeting nutritional requirements as well as adequate minerals and water provision.
What should you feed a cow with calf?
Some of these forages will not meet their protein needs. 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.
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.
How much should a cow weigh at breeding?
This will depend on cow size and targeted percent of mature weight by breeding season. For example, if average cow weight is 1400 lbs and 60% of mature weight by breeding is the goal, heifers need to weigh 840 lbs at breeding.
Why are replacement heifers kept?
Replacement heifers are traditionally kept to lead the genetic progress of the cow herd. These females, whether raised or purchased, need to have targeted development from birth to calving in order to be a productive part of the mature cow herd. Heifer development starts with proper whole-herd nutrition year-round.
Do heifers need to be fed separately?
As soon as heifers are selected, they need to be fed separately from other backgrounded calves, as excess energy can have negative effects on long term mammary development and calving performance.
How much protein should I feed my heifer?
Do not overfeed heifers less than 1 year of age and/or feed more than 2# of protein a day. Mammary development and dystocia problems are affected by excess fat deposits. After 6 months of age the protein level should be lowered from 16 to 12%.
When should I breed a heifer?
A heifer should not routinely be bred before 18 months of age unless she is of adequate weight (780# if adult weight will be 1200#); a few heifers may be at this weight by 14 months. If you breed a heifer before 18 months old we strongly suggest you consider using AI or a bull with a small calf birth weight.
How old do heifers have to be to have a cesarean?
Preventing a Cesarean Operation In Cattle. When one runs a heifer over 5 months of age with a bull, or bull calves over 5-6 months of age, a pregnant heifer can and will occur sooner or later. Heifers should be weaned and separated from bulls until they are 65% of their adult weight, or almost 1.5+ years of age.
What is a springer heifer?
A “springer” is a heifer that is going to give birth within 2 weeks.
When to treat grubs in cows?
Treating between the springtime and September may result in a reaction that can kill the cow should the grub be migrating near the spinal cord or esophagus. We wait to treat for grubs after they are in the back, and not yet large enough to notice. Hypoderma grubs leave the cow in the springtime (March to May).
When do hypoderma grubs leave cows?
Hypoderma grubs leave the cow in the springtime (March to May). There are numerous ear tags available for face and other flies that irritate cattle. Insecticidal resistance has developed to most of these products, so expect to maybe “switch” tags if fly control is not working.
How often should cows be dewormed?
The calf should be dewormed at least twice during its first year of life , and more if there are problems with internal parasites. A fecal exam of the stool can determine if the animals need deworming.
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.
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.
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?
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.
Do creep rations have roughage?
Traditional creep rations don’t have the roughage level starting rations have. Traditional creep rations are designed to be supplements to milk and grass if consumed at an optimal level (1% of BW). The grass in the calf’s diet provides the much needed roughage for adequate rumen health and optimal performance.
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 heifers be at breeding?
When it comes to managing heifers, perhaps nothing is more critical than managing their nutrition. The traditional recommendation was to target 65% of their mature weight at breeding. However, recent research has focused on challenging the lower limits of this number.
Can heifers have a low average daily gain?
Additionally, developing heifers with excessive condition may limit their longevity. While the feeding program may be targeting a lower average daily gain than some are used to, a common practice is to slightly increase the energy prior to initiating the synchronization and breeding program.
Do heifers lose weight on grass?
Because it has been observed that heifers can lose a significant amount of weight in the first week on grass, ways to overcome this negative energy balance should be considered.
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?
For most breeds and crosses, heifers should weigh from 650 to 850 lbs. at breeding time. Conception rates in heifers will vary depending on how well they have been grown. If heifers are to be good lifetime producers they must calve early. To achieve this they must show heat and conceive early in the breeding season.
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.
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.
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