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aborting heifers

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starvin'dog

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How much of a mess would I make if I needled 4-5 month bred heifers?
Would a shot of estrumate and dex do it?
Good bred heifers are selling @ about $1/pound or so it seems. Mine are too small for most and I think they'd dollar out better open.
Crazy idea or no?
 
I have no experience with that but the manager at Heartland in Moose Jaw was telling me about somebody else thinking of aborting 250 hfrs. They were a little green and figured they would dollar out better as feeders. :?
 
I accidently gave a bred cow a shot of lute last spring she aborted no problem and was fat as a tick this fall.She was a fall calver.
 
starvin'dog said:
How much of a mess would I make if I needled 4-5 month bred heifers?
Would a shot of estrumate and dex do it?
Good bred heifers are selling @ about $1/pound or so it seems. Mine are too small for most and I think they'd dollar out better open.
Crazy idea or no?
Click to expand...

My problem is just the opposite. Part of our yearling heifers didn't winter very well, and spent the first half of the summer not on grass. Bulls were with them, but way too many turned up open. My feed bill was so high for the past year, that by selling them open I knew I'd lose money. Trying the "value added" approach, I decided to spend good money after bad and breed them to calve next fall. We did the same thing with our young open 3, 4, and 5 year old cows. Bulls were turned out November 5th, so they should start calving about the middle of August. I'll probably try to sell them in May or June, hopefully for fairly decent money.

If I were you, starvin' dog, I'd just keep them "as is," and calve them out. Young pairs might be worth a lot of money by spring. Free advice is always worth just what you pay for it. :wink:

P.S. At a bred cow and heifer sale yesterday, coming two-year-olds were bringing $2 per pound.
 
You are in a different market soapweed,compared to what we are up here.A lot of bred cows up here are just going straight to slaughter at the bred cow sales and poor bred heifers are going for slaughter also.,and i watched some really nice heifers sell yesterday for $1150 to $1200.
Starvin' dog what would your heifers be weighing,calving date,and birth weight of your bull?
 
A neighbour tried that last year said never again some needed help and most of the calves are born alive I think, but I know where you are coming from open heifers are going for 1.10 lb and breds are in that 1000 to 1250 here good luck any way you go.
 
Starvin' dog what would your heifers be weighing,calving date,and birth weight of your bull?

800npounds now, will calve april/may.[/quote]
 
Hey soapweed, I am pretty sure I was at the same sale as you.....I was going to come introduce myself, but we had to get home to load some trucks, and you were visiting with someone else, the only reason I recognized you was from some of your pics. I had never been to that sale barn before.........I was amazed....it was run very well, not to mention my butt was not sore after sitting there for a few hours. :)
 
We aborted a bunch at about 4 months in late '03 after the BSE mess knocked the stuffings out of the bred heifer market. There is no doubt that it set them back for a month or so after the fact. They just looked a bit ragged and gaunted out for a while. That was my experience, anyway but maybe I should have been feeding differently.

It's best if I don't even think abut what happened to our cattle industry and our own business just because of politics. There are a lot of things in life that just are not right but you can't change it.
 
farmboy said:
Hey soapweed, I am pretty sure I was at the same sale as you.....I was going to come introduce myself, but we had to get home to load some trucks, and you were visiting with someone else, the only reason I recognized you was from some of your pics. I had never been to that sale barn before.........I was amazed....it was run very well, not to mention my butt was not sore after sitting there for a few hours. :)
Click to expand...

The Valentine Livestock Auction is a very nice facility, and it is managed very well. Yes, the seats are soft enough that buyers might be inclined to stay longer and bid more. :wink:

You should have come and said "hi." I was the old duffer that needed to use two canes. Hope you were impressed enough with the barn to come back sometime. Maybe we can meet each other then. :)
 
Is there going to be that big of difference to go through the trouble. I mean you abviously thought at one point they would be good cows so they do their job get bred have a calf that's over halfway grow in there and now you change your mind for $50 a head? I know they are cattle and you have to make money but I couldn't in good conscience go aborting heifers over half way to having a calf because I changed my mind. Jmo
 
3 M L & C said:
Is there going to be that big of difference to go through the trouble. I mean you abviously thought at one point they would be good cows so they do their job get bred have a calf that's over halfway grow in there and now you change your mind for $50 a head? I know they are cattle and you have to make money but I couldn't in good conscience go aborting heifers over half way to having a calf because I changed my mind. Jmo
Click to expand...

I agree with 3 M L & C. I would have a conscience issue as well. In fact that was my first thought when I read your post.

Just because you think the heifers are too small, doesn't mean everyone else will think that. Some people like smaller cattle. Heck, I remember back in the 60's and some of the 70's that the thought was that the heifers needed to weigh 700# when they calved. :shock: And at $1/lb if they weigh 800# now, you are bound to get more than that selling them as a bred heifer. And remember, the country is short on cattle.

Just my thoughts, but when 3 M L & C made his post, I thought I woud
go ahead and add my two cents. Good luck, whatever you decide.
 
For my own piece of mind I have the vet abort ( not sure what he uses ) all the heifers at weaning time - - - even at 600# running with their brothers about 1/3 will check preg so I just shoot them all.

Then I will keep the ones I want to use away from a bull till June of the following year and turn them in with the rest of the herd ( I guess group when you are under 20 head ) so that they have had time to develop prior to breeding.

A neighbor just leaves everything running together year round and it is not surprising for a 14 month old heifer to calve or die trying. I don't want the drama.
 
I hear you on the ethics argument. FWIW their not looking calvey yet, shouldn't be too traumatic? I also should have worded the post subject differently, this being a public site and all.
My fear is that if I take them to market they'll likely get bought cheap and put in a feedlot and needled anyway. I suspect a lot of them are going that way even at 1000 lbs. Might do better at a regular sale than a bred sale. Guess I should get on the phone and do some more work before I jump, this market has me spooked.
F.H., THIS country is a lot more short of cattlemen than cattle.
 
Faster horses said:
3 M L & C said:
Is there going to be that big of difference to go through the trouble. I mean you abviously thought at one point they would be good cows so they do their job get bred have a calf that's over halfway grow in there and now you change your mind for $50 a head? I know they are cattle and you have to make money but I couldn't in good conscience go aborting heifers over half way to having a calf because I changed my mind. Jmo
Click to expand...

I agree with 3 M L & C. I would have a conscience issue as well. In fact that was my first thought when I read your post.

Just because you think the heifers are too small, doesn't mean everyone else will think that. Some people like smaller cattle. Heck, I remember back in the 60's and some of the 70's that the thought was that the heifers needed to weigh 700# when they calved. :shock: And at $1/lb if they weigh 800# now, you are bound to get more than that selling them as a bred heifer. And remember, the country is short on cattle.

Just my thoughts, but when 3 M L & C made his post, I thought I woud
go ahead and add my two cents. Good luck, whatever you decide.
Click to expand...

Faster horses our country isn't short on cattle,we can't seem to kill our cow herd fast enough! From what i've seen at bred cow sales,i would say Starvin Dog would be lucky to get $950 at best at a current bred cow sale and honestly i think i'm being generous.
 
Don't do it... Been there done that and it really sucked.... This is one time I would say don't change horses in the middle of the stream. Our experience was that it was hard on cows some didn't clean took the bloom off the cows. Sometimes you can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. :D
 

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