Preg checkin' season

[Triangle Bar]

Preg checked a few days ago, not the best of results but considering that most of the grass they ate this year grew in 2010.... I was pretty happy with the girls.

13 heifers 100% bred for 45 day Calving

101 cows exposed

85 bred within 60 days 84%
5 bred late 5%
11 Open cows 11%

 

[millermlar]

I got a bull I'll sell ya.

Had 2 yearling bulls out with 50 head of cows. Preg checked 42 of the cows and 100% bred (95% bred within the 1st month of the bulls being put in). The one bull semen tested at 97% at 18 months; Trich negative. Expect this bull to do the same (they are out of the same bull; this guy is out of an Angus cow, other was out of a Char/Angus cow). Oh, and our guys throw about 50 pound calves and wean off at 550-600 at 6 months.

11 open cows just seems like an awful lot to me. That's about 10% from your numbers (not counting heifers). Ouch.

What sort of open percentage does everyone on here accept?

Randi

 

[gabby]

Good time to cull the open ones. I just sold 5 open cows to FPL Foods and got over $4500. Two of them were huge, other three were average, none were thin. Got $1.31 and $1.29 per hanging weight, no idea why the difference, all graded Boner.

 

[Triangle Bar]

Yep, the opens are going to town on friday. I think I had enough bull power. It was just drought conditions that forced individual weakness to the surface. Of the opens 2 were heifers, 3 young cows, and the rest were over 8 years old. The late breds are also going to town.

When I said I was pretty happy, I meant I was happy it wasn't worse.

 

[BRG]

We ultrasounded the cows yesterday
Spring calvers (March1 to April 15) - 6%
Summer calvers (May 1 to June 21) - 12%

Overal - 10%

All of our breeding pastures are from 1/2 section to a section in size and we run 1 bull per breeding pasture. We run from 35 to 55 cows per pasture.

I would like to be able to run more bulls per pasture, but it is a bit difficult as we need to know who the sires are. I know we could drop that % rate down a few if we could run another bull or 2 per pasture.

 

[WVGenetics]

We ultrasounded the cows yesterday
Spring calvers (March1 to April 15) - 6%
Summer calvers (May 1 to June 21) - 12%

Overal - 10%

All of our breeding pastures are from 1/2 section to a section in size and we run 1 bull per breeding pasture. We run from 35 to 55 cows per pasture.

I would like to be able to run more bulls per pasture, but it is a bit difficult as we need to know who the sires are. I know we could drop that % rate down a few if we could run another bull or 2 per pasture.

BRG

Your bulls are covering a lot more ground than they have to around here!

You could probably drop that number but this way it sounds like you are challenging both bull and cows from a reproductive management standpoint. I'd say thats good news for your bull customers. Personally, I'd rather buy bulls from somebody with your % opens than someone with a very low % opens on average. Seems a little more believable (honest) to me.

 

[BRG]

We ultrasounded the cows yesterday
Spring calvers (March1 to April 15) - 6%
Summer calvers (May 1 to June 21) - 12%

Overal - 10%

All of our breeding pastures are from 1/2 section to a section in size and we run 1 bull per breeding pasture. We run from 35 to 55 cows per pasture.

I would like to be able to run more bulls per pasture, but it is a bit difficult as we need to know who the sires are. I know we could drop that % rate down a few if we could run another bull or 2 per pasture.

BRG

Your bulls are covering a lot more ground than they have to around here!

You could probably drop that number but this way it sounds like you are challenging both bull and cows from a reproductive management standpoint. I'd say thats good news for your bull customers. Personally, I'd rather buy bulls from somebody with your % opens than someone with a very low % opens on average. Seems a little more believable (honest) to me.

You notice that the summer calvers tested with twice as many opens - I blame this on the time of year we are breeding. The grass isn't lush and it is in the middle of the heat. We are slowly moving these up a little. When we started the May calving group, we started calving May 15. We have been inching that up a bit year by year, and next year we are hoping to start calving around April 20. Hopefully that is late enough to miss the snow storms. By getting into April, we are hoping for a couple things, one is getting a little cooling breeding time with greener grass, and secondly we are hoping the baby calves will be a little bigger and they can take more advantage of the lush green grass in May and June.

 

[lazy ace]

I don't test many but seems to me that the second cycles are missing. They are either bred good or open. I haven't seen flat out wrecks but most people are higher than usual. I talked to some guys today and it seems like it is wide spread across the state.

Talked to a vet and he said earlier that he was having a lot of dead and absorbed calves and he traced it all back to some really warm days and record heat indexes (about there second cycle). One rancher even lost 13 head of yearlings due to the heat.

Nobody wants to see opens but the prices are helping ease the pain.

have a cold one


lazy ace

 

[George]

When we preg checked last week the vet said to expect several opens as many of the bulls just shut down in July around here due to the heat.

With only 1 16 month old bull to cover 21 cows and 3 hiefers he was quite surprised they were all bred.

But my cows are rotated thru 6 pastures rainging from 6 to 8 acres and all have a creek running thru with shade. He does not have to go far to find a cow in heat and they will probably be in the shade standing in the creek with him.

I doubt my cows could survive the conditions many of you have they have gotten so spoiled!