When to breed cow and Guernsy question

southerngurl · #1 10/30/08, 09:34 AM

Well, now that we have a calf, I am thinking about when to get her bred again.

So if a gestation period of a cow is 9 months, then do you typically breed them 3 months after they calve so you have a calf each year? I'm trying to think of what time of year is best. If they are big enough to butcher in one year.. then calving in a fall seems good, because the baby is small and nursing in the winter and then eats all next summer to be ready to butcher the next fall. Or you could breed for early spring/late winter so the calf would grow up on the rising plane of nutrition in spring, the mom should have lots of milk without extra feed.. and then keep the calf over one winter and then butcher at around 18 months that next fall.. Does this sound right? I'm used to goats, and so cattle is kinda new to me..

Also, I'm wondering about what to breed her to. My neighbor has a Guernsy bull I could breed her to.. and if I got a heifer I could have a half dairy half beef milk cow that I coudl breed angus and have beefy calves as well. But if I got a bull.. how would that work out, should it grow decent? This bull is quite big. How do you figure out if a bull is too big to breed to your cow? She's a good sized cow. I haven't seen the bull up close. Or I can just breed her angus.

agmantoo · #2 10/30/08, 10:42 AM

I would want to butcher at 16 to 18 months or breed a heifer at 15 months. I would prefer these dates to conclude as grass diminishes in your area. You will have 1 Winter for the animal to go through. If the cow is fed good, that 1 Winter will be the one with the lowest total feed requirement and the calf will not pull the cow down if left on her. A heifer on this schedule should be in good condition to breed since she would have had grass for a full growing season. For me this would be a May/June calving date in your circumstances.
Since I do not eat my own cooking, I have cows that calve year round. This keeps my headcount rather consistent and makes the paddocks more manageable for rotational grazing. It also distributes the marketing throughout the year to average the lows and highs of price fluctuations and gives cash flow throughout the year.

southerngurl · #3 10/30/08, 11:14 AM

Thanks for the great info!

Now what about guernsey's? From what I read they seem like a great breed. Pros and cons?

matt_man · #4 10/30/08, 11:31 AM

What breed do you have? When did she calve? If you bred her now, you are looking at an August calf. It is pretty hot here in August. I would wait and breed her in mid to late December and get a late September, early October calf.

I wouldn't be too concerned about the size of the bull. Guernseys have good butterfat and great milk. I think you would be pleased with a heifer and a bull calf would still get pretty big and make nice beef.

southerngurl · #5 10/30/08, 02:14 PM

She is a angus hereford cross. I think she is 75 percent angus actually. She just calved last Sunday, she's the cow in this post: Saga of Red Heifer continued

To me she seems to have quite a bit of milk for a beef cow anyway (oh I wish she would let me milk her), so I bet if I got a heifer from a guernsy cross from her it would be a good one.

Up North · #6 10/30/08, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by southerngurl

Thanks for the great info!

Now what about guernsey's? From what I read they seem like a great breed. Pros and cons?

Agree with mattman about the Guernsey. Guernseys are noted for excellent disposition. Calm, gentle cattle that are easy to work with.
If your cow is a good size cow, I would not worry about Bull being too large.