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February 2011 Articles

Knock Out Roses require care
Farmers Must Use all Tools to Tell Their Stories
Trader Missions Help us Keep our fingers on the Pulse
Horse camping tips
Continued from Beef Sire Selection
The Important of Price Discovery
Farm Bureau Pushing for Repeal of Form 1099 Requirements
LSU AgCenter seeing increased calls about bedbugs
Feral Hogs can be controlled
Thoughts
Proposed GIPSA Rules would mean big changes for Livestock and Poultry Industries
Boiler--Salmlonella Enteritidis Monitored Program
AFBF Backs Bill to Expand Broadband in Rural America
Russia OKs mor US poultry plants, plans inspections
Make Plans for Fall planting now
Cutting Corners
Beef Cattle Reproductive Efficiency – Profitability
News Brief
Mosquito
Extreme Vertical Integration in the Broiler Industry
Never Discount a Woman's Voice
It's time for fall vegetable gardening
LSU AgCnter experts say US eggs are safe
LSU Ag Center researchers focus on food safety
So far, sweet potato outlook much better than past 2 years
Horses
Horse Trivia
Goat farm finds new markets
The Veteran
• Final: Selection and Management of Beef Replacement Heifer Source
Frequently asked questions: Livestock Show Animal Health
Broiler Demonstration Houses
Rules would level playing field for contract poultry farmers
Clarification of Certain poultry Provisions of the Proposed GIPSA Rule
Deal Carefully with Poison Ivy
Paul Harvey
Pear or Apple Crunch
Just Rambling Oct 2010
Family economist warns of recent scams
New herbicides help cattle farmers manage pastures

(40 articles found)

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Final: Selection and Management of Beef Replacement Heifer Source

Final: Selection and Management of Beef Replacement Heifer Source: University of Arkansas
Management from Breeding to Calving
Replacement heifers should be on a good health program. Heifers should be vaccinated or revaccinated for IBR-BVD-PI3, BRSV, vibriosis, leptospirosis and blackleg 7-way prior to first breeding.
Calving difficulty is of great concern with first-calf heifers, as it is the primary cause of calf losses at birth. The major causes of dystocia are an oversized calf or an undersized heifer. A large calf and/or a heifer with a small birth canal can cause calving problems. The general rule of thumb is that a female (heifer or cow) should be able to calve 8% of their body weight. Therefore, if a heifer weighs 900 lbs at calving, she should be able to calve a calf weighing 72 lbs at birth. Two methods can be used to reduce the risk of calving difficulty. The first is to be sure the pregnant heifer is properly “grown-out” from breeding to calving. Pelvic
area of heifers can be measured at yearling age, and those with small areas should be culled. Another method of reducing dystocia is by reducing birth weights. Select low birth weight or
high calving ease EPD bulls for breeding heifers. Birth weight information on a bull and his sire can be effective in reducing birth weights as well. Be very careful in selecting bulls if no prior calving information is known. Many yearling bulls are used on
heifers satisfactorily, but the old belief that a young bull will sire smaller calves is not true. To reduce the risk of injury, however, smaller bulls should be used. Bulls should not weigh more than 170 to 180% of the female’s (heifer or cow) body weight. If heifers weigh 800 lbs at the start of the breeding season, the bull
selected to breed those heifers should not weigh more than 1,400 lbs. It is recommended to breed replacement heifers 20 to 30 days before the cow herd. This permits more time and labor to be given to heifers during the calving season. Heifers can be watched more closely and assisted if necessary to reduce calf death losses. It also allows for a longer period from calving to rebreeding, which is needed by first-calf heifers to regain body
condition and initiate estrous cycles. The breeding season for replacement heifers should be approximately 45 days. Heifers should be checked for pregnancy 60 to 90 days after the end of the breeding season, and all open heifers should be culled.
This increases selection pressure for high fertility and also ensures a short first calving season. Heifers need to gain 0.8 to 1.0 lb per day from the time they are bred until calving. This can usually be achieved on pasture and mineral supplementation
alone. At calving, heifers should weigh 85% of their expected mature body weight and be in good body condition (BCS = 6 to 7). If heifers are in thin body condition, they should be placed on a higher level of nutrition. It is difficult to improve heifer body condition as calving approaches, and it is especially difficult
after calving. Improving condition will improve colostrum production and quality, will decrease postcalving anestrous period and increase the livability of their calves. “Starving” heifers prior to calving does not reduce calving problems. Underfeeding can cause poor milk production, reduced weaning weights, lower rebreeding rates and increased calving difficulties. It also is not desirable for heifers to be overconditioned. Heifers which are overconditioned at calving have greater calf losses, excessive feed cost, depressed milk production, decreased life span and rebreeding difficulties. Management from Calving to
Rebreeding A number of signs indicate that a heifer is getting
ready to calve. They include relaxation of the pelvic ligaments, enlargement and thickening of the vulva and enlargement of the teats and udder. Checking bred heifers three to four times per day and watching for calving signs can help reduce the possibility of
calving losses. No aid should be given unless it is absolutely
necessary. However, if a delivery does not occur within approximately two hours from the beginning of labor pains, assistance may be required. Some common causes for concern are breach birth (indicated by hooves of the feet pointed upward), one leg protruding, no legs protruding, head turned to one side making
normal delivery difficult or impossible, and an abnormally large calf. Calving assistance may also be needed if there is no progress made for 30 minutes after the feet or water bag appears. If a well-developed heifer that calves in good body condition loses condition rapidly after calving, she will have a less than desirable reproductive rate. Nutrition is very important for the first-calf heifer. Plan the first calf heifer’s nutritional program in advance. Provide the highest quality hay or pasture available, and be prepared to provide a grain supplement. Heavy-milking heifers are especially prone to rapid weight loss and subsequent reduced chance of rebreeding. It is a good idea to provide a high magnesium mineral supplement with adequate trace minerals 30 days prior to and during lactation for heifers grazing cool season grasses or small grains in the spring to reduce the chances of
grass tetany. Magnesium requirements increase with the onset of lactation. Rebreeding the First-Calf Heifer Rebreeding first-calf heifers for their second calf is often difficult. Other management programs have been shown to reduce the postpartum anestrus of first-calf heifers. These include once-a-day suckling,
progesterone treatment, early weaning and cow-calf separation for 48 hours. These systems have additional labor requirements and, in some cases, special facility requirements. Maintaining heifers in good body condition is the essential key to reproductive performance. Under normal circumstances, with good nutrition and good body condition first-calf heifers should rebreed in a
timely manner. First-calf heifers that do not rebreed should be culled. Culling Heifers Based on Their First Calf’s Performance The first calf a heifer raises can tell a great deal about the future productivity of the heifer as a cow. Data from the University of Arkansas Cow Herd Performance Testing Program ranked cow performance based on calf’s 205-day adjusted weaning weight ratio. It was determined that first-calf heifers ranking in the top one-third of the herd with their first calf had a 51% probability of ranking in the top one-third with their second calf. Conversely, first-calf heifers that ranked in the bottom one-third had 43% and 49% probabilities of ranking in the bottom one third with their second and third calf. First-calf heifers are often given a “second chance” to produce a desirable calf because they are first-calf heifers. This data would suggest that it is wiser to cull the poor performing first-calf heifer after her first calf and not invest any more resources in her. Summary The replacement heifer becomes the genetic building block for the cow herd. Many management steps and decisions must be made in the process of selecting and growing replacement heifers. Consequently, replacement heifers must pass a number of “production tests” to become part of the cow herd. Selecting heifers at weaning, developing heifers from weaning to first breeding, evaluating heifers after their first breeding and calving season and establishing rebreeding results are the “production tests” a heifer must pass. The extra management time invested in the replacement heifer enterprise can pay large dividends throughout the lifetime of the beef female. Paying attention to detail is the key for a successful replacement heifer selection and management program.

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