Breeding season preparations are crucial for any cow/calf producer’s bottom line. Their steps will determine if they will have a good calf crop. Good quality calves to sell are the defining factor between a successful and a not successful rancher.
As a cow/calf producer, you hold the key to a successful breeding season. Your management decisions before and during the calving season are crucial. The steps you take now will determine whether you start the season on the right footing or find yourself playing catch-up. Remember, your actions directly impact the health and productivity of your herd.
For a cow to produce a calf every year, she must be rebred 80 days after she has calved. This 80-day timeline is crucial because it takes into account the cow’s reproductive cycle. The 80 days may not seem like a short time, but you must remember that she will not be going into estrus for at least 30 days after that calf is born, so your window is a little shorter.
So, what can you do to prepare for an outstanding breeding season? Well, here are three things that you can look at to improve your chances of having a large calf crop.
Dehydration among calves is a severe problem that is often overlooked among producers. It can be caused for many reasons, typically from the summer heat and scours. The time from recognizing the symptoms to providing treatment is crucial.
Creep feeding can be an excellent tool for improving the overall weaning weight of your calves. Thus, it can be a good management and economical option for improving your bottom line.
Having suitable replacement heifers is vital for the long-term profitability of any ranch. It is necessary to be able to rotate the breeding stock out to improve the overall genetic gene pool. Also, cows will get to a point where they will be too old to breed anymore. When this happens, you must have new stock ready to take their place.
Colostrum is one of, if not the most critical thing for newborn calves. It lays the very foundation for their health and well-being throughout the remainder of their life. Through the dam, the calf takes in all the antibodies needed to fight off disease. But what if they are not able to get it from their mother?
Producers tend to have a love/hate relationship regarding supplements. On the one hand, they love how it improves the performance of their cattle, but on the other hand, they hate that it adds to their expenses. It is for this reason that producers tend only to feed supplements if they absolutely have to.
A breeder is an essential part of the future of the cattle industry. The products they make, i.e., calves, can determine the genetic potential of a beef herd. This genetic potential is why it is vital to do business with a reputable one.
Nutrition is one of those things that is essential year-round. Everything hinges on the cow’s nutritional needs being met, from just putting on weight for the market to reentering the reproduction cycle. However, meeting these demands can be complicated.
Shrinkage is a genuine concern when it comes time to sell your calves. This concern is because it is a reduction in the sales weight, which means a reduction in the price that you will get. Of course, some price adjustments are standard in order to compensate for varying shrinkage and gut fill.
BRD, or bovine respiratory disease, is a general term for any respiratory disease in cattle. There is a range of factors that can cause this disease. The common names usually used for this disease are pneumonia or shipping fever. Stocker and feedlot operations are often where this disease occurs. It occurs more often there because of the extreme stress that calves are put under from weaning and then being shipped.
