Cattle Breeding 2018

[RollingAcres]

@farmerjan , we are going to go with spring calves that way when the calves are born in March/April, it's won't be as cold up here in upstate New York. We are in the Capital Region of NY. I will also at my location to my profile.
I do agree that finding someone or an AI company would be our best choice. We are not trained to do AI and I would not want to hurt my cows either if we don't do it right.
I was thinking about asking some of the beef farms around here to see if they offer breeding services but also thought I should ask about AI and breeding cows here, since there are a lot of helpful people with lots of experience.

 

[RollingAcres]

@farmerjan , forgot to answer on the breed, I have 2 Red Devon. I guess what breed we want doesn't really matter because if we get a male calf then he would become food for us, if we get a female then we will sell her. Since we don't have any papers on the 2 heifers we have other than what the sellers told us, we won't be selling the calves for the "bloodline".

 

[farmerjan]

I was pretty sure they were "red" cows!!!! There is a guy in Mass that promotes red devon beef; they had a booth at one of our forage meetings one year. How about checking with the guy you got your cattle from? It really won't matter what you breed to as you said. My suggestion is an easy calving angus and they have angus in both red and black.
I think it would be a good idea to talk to any nearby beef farms. If they do any AI for themselves, it is a good bet that they would be willing to come breed your cows. You would have to pay for their time/trip and the semen, but being a neighbor will also give you someone to call in case of an emergency.
For late march or early April calves then Sept breeding will work good. It is also a little easier to get cows to show heats when it is a little cooler, they are more active. And the breeding is more likely to "take" if it isn't hotter than a poker out there. I have bred cows that were penned out in the sun with no shade on hot 90* days and it it was like I may as well have squirted the semen on the ground. When a cow's internal body temp gets too hot it is like "cooking the semen" and it kills all viable sperm. So your timing will work good.
Smart to start looking now for someone so that when they do come into heat you will have all the "legwork" done and be ready.
Also realize you will have to have a way to confine the cow. A chute where her head it "caught", or tied with a halter up snug, and a way to make sure she can't swing her butt around with the breeders arm up inside. If you find a neighbor that can do it, you could ask them to come over and show him where you want to do it and see if they have any suggestions. Good PR to "think of the person performing the service".

 

[RollingAcres]

@farmerjan you definitely got the "red" part!
Great info. I will talk it over with hubby to see if we want to stay with red Devon bloodline. I can also check with one seller who owns a farm. The other seller got the cow as a pet then couldn't take care anymore so decided to sell.

 

[Wehner Homestead]

Slight typo in what FJ wrote...breeding the end of May will give you early March calves. Breeding in Sept will give you approx June calves...

 

[Wehner Homestead]

Breeding will begin 5/3 if cycling continues on schedule for the three that didn’t calve this year. That puts them due mid Feb. I’ll try to post as each breeding occurs.

I’m overdue to fill y’all in on a few of the other breedings that we have planned.

Sydney and Maxine (if they cycle before the bull gets turned in for covering everyone) will be bred to a bull named MWJ. Both were picked for this bull before being on the bottom end of our Calving. Ugh! Anyway, the MWJ stands for Monopoly Whiskey Jade as they are the key genetic influences in his breeding background. He’s a very striking black and white pattern. We are hoping to add some thickness, hair, and that eye appealing show look that’s popular.

Maddie and Dolly will be bred to Loaded for Bear. Two of our four best calves this year came from these cows and Loaded sired a third calf that’s included in our top four out of just an okay cow. We are really looking forward to seeing what he can do with these powerhouse cows!

Red White & Roan is the bull that has been picked for Melody. He’s a purebred Shorthorn that we’ve seen work really well on crossbred cows that have a little too much daylight peeking under them. He’s been in our tank for more than a year and we can’t wait to see how this combination turns out!

Stay tuned for the next group. Lol

 

[Baymule]

I can't wait to see the calves! but I guess I'll have to.....

 

[Wehner Homestead]

Lol @Baymule! I’m the same way! Those 9 months take quite some time.

 

[Wehner Homestead]

I have almost got y’all updated on our breeding plans. I’m going to see if I can finish it up...

Elsa was mentioned earlier as being planned to a popular bull right now named Black Power Play. We wanted to breed Moxie to him also but placed a question mark next to the choice while we waited to see how she did with her first Calving. Mallory was delivered with no issues so Moxie will be getting bred to Black Power Play also.

Maizy’s planned match is a bull called Dirty Thoughts. His first calves are hitting the ground and he’s predicted to be heifer safe and that is in the process of being proven. This will be for Maizy’s second calf but since we pulled her calf, we don’t want to get too daring. Also, he’s a blonde and white bull and Maizy is red with blonde in her background so an added bonus will be seeing what color we get!

Here’s a concise list of the game plan, as long as everyone is cooperative and the AIs are successful. 14 calves next year will definitely be an improvement over the 11 this year.

Georgia- Grand Fortune
Scarlett- Grand Fortune
Gatlin- DCC Destiny
Sydney- MWJ
Maddie- Loaded for Bear
Melody-RedWhite&Roan
Maizy- Dirty Thoughts
Moxie- Black Power Play
Elsa- Black Power Play
Maxine- MWJ
Bailey- Dakota Gold
Dolly- Loaded for Bear
Josie- Jesse James
Ember- DCC Destiny

 

[RollingAcres]

This is all exciting stuff!!!