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Bulls can reach puberty by the time they are 8 months of age, but most are put in with the breeding herd by the time they are 12 months of age. Heifers reach puberty by the time they are 10 to 12 months of age, but most heifers are not bred until they are 15 months old. Of course the breed of the bulls and heifers depends on when they reach puberty and/or when they should be used for producing offspring.
What else can I help you with?
What age can you first breed cattle?
That depends on the breed. Usually heifers should be bred when they are between 15 and 18 months of age, and bulls can be used for breeding when they are around 10 to 14 months of age.
What age do you breed Holstein cattle?
Holstein heifers can be bred at around 15 months of age. Bulls can be used for breeding by the time they reach around 12 months of age.
What is optimal pelvic measurement for first calf heifers?
This all depends on the breed. As such, your veterinarian would have a better idea of what the optimum pelvic size is for your particular breed or breed-mix of heifers you are wanting to get bred.
When should a young heifer be put in calf?
Young heifers, as in heifers that are younger than 6 months of age, should NEVER be bred to calf, as this is much too young for them and too hard on their growing bodies. The youngest a heifer can be bred at is when they are 15 months old. Most heifers reach puberty by the time they are 11 or 12 months old, but shouldn't be bred until they are either 60% or 70% of the average weight of the main cowherd, or reach 15 months of age. Most of the time it is the weight that many cattle producers rely on for best calf production of the heifers, as sometimes a heifer that reaches 15 months of age is still too small to be bred.
Why are cattle bred by artificial selection?
They are not. Cattle (cows and heifers) are bred either via artificial insemination, or natural breeding.
What age can you first breed cattle?
That depends on the breed. Usually heifers should be bred when they are between 15 and 18 months of age, and bulls can be used for breeding when they are around 10 to 14 months of age.
What are short bred cows or heifers?
Short bred cows or heifers are females that are in early gestation or pregnancy, mostly in their first trimester.
How much does a large herd of cattle cost?
This depends on how many cattle are in that large herd, their breed or breeding, what type they are (feeder steers, feeder heifers, dry bred cows, open cows, 3-in-1's, bred heifers, yearling bulls, 2-year old bulls, canner/cutter cows, purebred stock, commercial stock, etc.), and the current market price for your area.
What age do you breed Holstein cattle?
Holstein heifers can be bred at around 15 months of age. Bulls can be used for breeding by the time they reach around 12 months of age.
What should be the age of dairy cattle at breeding time?
Most dairy heifers should be at least 15 months of age before they can be bred.
Can a male cow be dairy?
There are dairy bulls. If the cow is not bred, she will not produce milk. Bulls are necessary to do this. Although, many cows are now artificially inseminated. Unless dairy heifers are needed to increase the herd or to replace cows that are too old, any bull's semen will do.
What is a female bovine before giving birth called?
Young female cattle are called heifers before they are bred and often--in the dairy industry--referred to asSpringers and Heiferettes the first time they are bred and before they have had theirfirst calf. After that they are cows whether they are pregnant or barren.In the beef industry, such animals are often known as bred heifers.
What is optimal pelvic measurement for first calf heifers?
This all depends on the breed. As such, your veterinarian would have a better idea of what the optimum pelvic size is for your particular breed or breed-mix of heifers you are wanting to get bred.
When should a young heifer be put in calf?
Young heifers, as in heifers that are younger than 6 months of age, should NEVER be bred to calf, as this is much too young for them and too hard on their growing bodies. The youngest a heifer can be bred at is when they are 15 months old. Most heifers reach puberty by the time they are 11 or 12 months old, but shouldn't be bred until they are either 60% or 70% of the average weight of the main cowherd, or reach 15 months of age. Most of the time it is the weight that many cattle producers rely on for best calf production of the heifers, as sometimes a heifer that reaches 15 months of age is still too small to be bred.
What is the difference in gestation period between different breeds of beef bulls?
Bulls don't go through gestation periods: cows and heifers that have been bred do. Bulls are intact male bovines that are used to breed cows, and can settle as many as 50 cows in one breeding season. Cows are mature female bovines that are capable of having a calf, and typically the definition of cows means that they have already had a calf. Heifers are females that have never given birth to a calf. So, if you asked your question with cows or heifers in it instead of bulls, you would get a better answer. :)
Why are cattle bred by artificial selection?
They are not. Cattle (cows and heifers) are bred either via artificial insemination, or natural breeding.
What is a heifer bull?
Heifers have smaller pelvic areas than mature cows do, so they need to be bred to a bull that has, genetically, low birth weights. Heifers are also best bred to yearling bulls(primarily 12 to 18 months of age), which are smaller than the bigger mature bulls and won't increase the chances of crippling the heifers when trying to mount them. Young and/or small bulls tend to have the genetics for siring smaller calves, and heifers have the body size that tend to develop small calves, however, in either case this does not always occur: Yearling bulls are primarily unproven bulls; small bulls may sire large calves; Breed of the yearling bull plays a part in low birthweight genetics; condition, feed and environment play a role in lowbirthweight rates in heifers and cows. Young bulls are not the best because 99% of the time they are unproven sires. In other words, they are virgin bulls, or have never mated with a cow or heifer and produced offspring. They are selected by the rancher because they are expected to produce low birthweight calves out of the heifers, only because the Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) combined and calculated from the sire and dam, and compared with other bulls of the same breed and raised in the same conditions, says so. Smaller bulls also need to have the EPD numbers to be able to be used on heifers. If there are no papers that come with a small bull that you buy, you are making a big gamble on him. Even EPDs on yearlings are not reliable, especially if you have a 60% chance that that bull will sire large calves instead of small ones. Thus young unproven bulls may have high birth weights that should not be used on heifers; the same goes with smaller bulls. Breed also has a large affect on how the heifers calve out, and what size of calves the bull will sire. For instance, a yearling Simmental bull is put in with about 20 Red Angus heifers. Low birth weight EPDs for the Simmental breed is different from the low birthweight genetics of the Red Angus breed, so there's a higher chance that 10 or 15 of those Red Angus heifers will need assistance. Even using a Red Angus yearling bull that may have the numbers for low birth weights may not sire low birthweight calves in all of the heifers. But, primarily using a Continental bull that is of a breed that is notorious for large calves, like Simmental, Charolais, Maine Anjou and Belgian Blue, for instance, on your heifers, is asking for trouble. Small bulls like Dexters, White Park, Red Poll, etc. tend to sire small calves that are easy for your heifers to pop out. So heifer bulls are chosen through careful selection of genetics, size and breed, with the type of heifers in mind, in order to have a successful, worry-free calving season. If you know what to look for, you will have some happy heifers on your hands.
