There are many articles that discuss ways to increase your cow’s fertility in order to increase your profits out there. While many of them make valid points and have scientific facts to back them up, they usually involve increasing input costs as well. A little increase in your input costs can be handled when the markets are good, but what happens when the prices for cows goes down (as they will do)? Here are some tips to increase reproduction rates without breaking the bank.
Calve along with nature and feed availability
It is easier and cheaper to adapt cows to the environment than to adapt the environment to the cows. Planning the start of calving season during the middle to late part of spring can help reduce your feed costs. This can help with reducing feed costs because feeds in the form of forages are available when needed. A cow’s greatest increase in nutrient requirements are during the last trimester and lactation.
Use bulls with the right traits
You will want to select bulls with moderate size and milk production. Going with larger size animals will just increase the feed requirements in order for your herd to do well. The same holds true with the high milk production traits. Smaller cows tend to produce more pounds per acre than larger cows and are generally more fertile. An added bonus is with a smaller size calf there is less of a chance of birthing difficulties.
Another trait you can select for is ones that comes from a cow that has thrived with little input in an environment similar to yours. A bull won’t do you much good if he can’t handle living in range conditions. We also discuss the importance of bull selections here
Select the right breeding season length
Cows that can be bred in the timeframe that you choose is a good indicator of performance. When dealing with young heifers a good window to use is around 30 days or so. Heifers that can be bred in this time are in a good position to rebreed quicker after their first calf. Using a short breeding will also help you at sale time because all of the calves will be more uniformed.
Cull any that don’t perform right
Any cows that don’t have the traits or temperament that you want should be removed from the cowherd. Open cows should be sold because they are just costing you money. The heifers that happen to be bred late should also be culled because more than likely she will also be that way.
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