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Post by fivestarherefords on Mar 31, 2021 19:12:08 GMT -6
We just weaned our fall calves and had 6 heifers over 800 pounds with top being 862. It sure is fun to look at them but in the back of my mind I know these heifers are likely behind the 8 ball when it comes to productivity and longevity. I’m of the opinion that 600-650 heifers and 650-700 bulls are likely the sweet spot but do we honestly try to breed some performance out of them? And yes they have been creep fed but that isn’t getting cut through our muddy winters. Thoughts?
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Post by cflory on Mar 31, 2021 19:39:59 GMT -6
I guess I'm not sure why you creep feed if you don't want those weights. I will take weights in the next couple of weeks, if my bulls are in the 500s I will be happy but no creep, doormat native pasture, and a little alfalfa every other day. To answer your question, in my program I couldn't support that performance. Cows wouldn't breed back and calves would become almost stunted-like because of the lack of nutrients needed to support that kind of growth. If your environment will support that growth without outside inputs that put ROI in the negative Id say go for it but not here.
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Post by strojanherefords on Apr 4, 2021 20:49:25 GMT -6
This is why Herefords get discounted. A weaned heifer, creep fed to 800lbs, is spoilt and incapable of being a productive cow or a feeder. I want my heifers to be that size a year later as yearling coming off of grass. To be successful in any form of agriculture today, we have to push the envelope. That means getting heifers bred at as light of weight as possible.
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Post by jjbcattleco on Apr 5, 2021 8:33:09 GMT -6
This is why Herefords get discounted. A weaned heifer, creep fed to 800lbs, is spoilt and incapable of being a productive cow or a feeder. I want my heifers to be that size a year later as yearling coming off of grass. To be successful in any form of agriculture today, we have to push the envelope. That means getting heifers bred at as light of weight as possible. I'm not sure they need to weigh 800+ but I'm also not team light as possible. This all goes back pretty quickly to do what works best for you and your customers. |
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Post by fivestarherefords on Apr 5, 2021 16:44:04 GMT -6
This is why Herefords get discounted. A weaned heifer, creep fed to 800lbs, is spoilt and incapable of being a productive cow or a feeder. I want my heifers to be that size a year later as yearling coming off of grass. To be successful in any form of agriculture today, we have to push the envelope. That means getting heifers bred at as light of weight as possible. You keep pushing your envelope that direction and I’ll keep going the other. We are in the birth to freezer business selling individual cuts in our retail market. We finish steers at 16 months with an average carcass weight of 800. I can assure you the type we are raising isn’t the reason for the Hereford discount. |
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Post by cflory on Apr 7, 2021 7:29:03 GMT -6
Now that I feed everything out, I have toyed with the thought of creeping my calves. I think $50 upfront might pay going out by finishing sooner? Anyway it would be fun to see monster calves on the cows
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Post by fivestarherefords on Apr 7, 2021 18:43:36 GMT -6
Now that I feed everything out, I have toyed with the thought of creeping my calves. I think $50 upfront might pay going out by finishing sooner? Anyway it would be fun to see monster calves on the cows I figure the creep feed costs me $75 per calf. Even with the creep feed the milking abilities of each cow are obvious at weaning. I’m not sure why so many people view it as some kind of witchcraft. |
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Post by timbernt on Apr 7, 2021 21:04:37 GMT -6
I agree with five star creep feeding does not change weaning ratios. I also agree creeping calves is the most efficient use of grain in the entire life of an animal. We have over 50% of our calves in the fall. That means those cows eat low quality fescue hay during winter, so the forage they eat is marginal at best. Having a more nutrient dense feed available to the calves makes economic sense to me.
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Post by elkwc on Apr 8, 2021 20:01:30 GMT -6
Now that I feed everything out, I have toyed with the thought of creeping my calves. I think $50 upfront might pay going out by finishing sooner? Anyway it would be fun to see monster calves on the cows I figure the creep feed costs me $75 per calf. Even with the creep feed the milking abilities of each cow are obvious at weaning. I’m not sure why so many people view it as some kind of witchcraft. Creep feeding IMO is more beneficial for the PB. As a commercial breeder we creep in certain situations. We creep the fall calves, heifers calves and sometimes during severw drought. Last year during the drought we put out liquid feed for the cows and many of the calves ate it also. Way more cost efficient than creeping for us. |
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