Adriane Good
Many producers have been reducing their herd sizes this year
and as you watch trailers full of cows make their way to the auction yard, you
may be contemplating exactly which of your heifer calves you should select as
replacements and which should be sent down the road with the steer calves.
First of all, there should be some automatic culling reasons
no matter the year. If they have a structural fault of any kind, you don’t want
them in your herd. Whether that be feet and leg issues, udder or mammary system
problems, lack of capacity, or narrow pins, go ahead and put them on the cull
list. Another good reason not to keep a heifer is if she had a tough entry to
the world. If her dam had calving problems, there’s a good chance her dam will
have passed it on to her. In a year like this where feed is short, you may not
want to take that risk.
Another thing to think about is the heifer’s birth weight. A
birth weight that is not too big and not too small is what you want to shoot
for. A heifer calf that had an average birth weight will likely throw calves
with average birth weights, which is something to aim for. Too big, and you
might run into calving problems. Too small, and you’ll lose precious pounds when
you ship.
Looking at the size of your calves may help you make your
replacement heifer decisions, but their birth dates are also important. The
calves that were born in the first 21 days of your calving cycle are going to
mature earlier than the later born calves, which means they’ll get pregnant
earlier and calve earlier, helping you to keep the majority of your calves born
in that first cycle. These calves were also born to the cows that caught on the
first cycle, suggesting that they are the more fertile cows and may pass that
on to their daughters.
If you have white faced cows in your herd, it can also be
helpful to select the heifers that have pigmentation around their eye. Cows
that have white skin around their eyes have a higher risk of pink eye, and in a
year where feed is in short supply, it’s just not worth keeping them. Speaking
of risk, the heifer calves that are nervous or give you sketchy vibes are also
not worth keeping. It can be tough to get rid of those cows and calves with
problem dispositions sometimes but adding a hospital bill to your feed bill
isn’t a great idea this year.
Other heifers that would be good to keep are those out of
your older cows, provided they still meet the previous criteria. If their dams
are older and have been part of your herd for a while, the calves will probably
have some longevity to them as well.
Finally, you can always look at the genetics of your calves.
EPD’s, or expected progeny differences, are the estimated value of your cattle
as breeding stock. If the sire and/or the dam of an average calf has good
EPD’s, it might be worth keeping the calf as a replacement. Of course, if the
calf has a structural fault, EPD’s won’t save it from the cull pen.
Selecting your replacement heifers can be tricky business,
especially in years like this. For more information on choosing who in your herd
gets to stay and who gets to go on a field trip, contact your local MSU
Extension office.
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| Which of these heifers would you keep and which would you cull? |
