Is your herd Ready to Breed? tips to consider before turnout by Erica Louder for the California Cattleman The last five years have been a wild ride for the California cattle industry, and the 2023 season has especially been one for the record books. Record moisture levels created optimum conditions for grazing. For many folks, there was even more grass than cattle – what a problem to have. Cows came off the range flush, ready to calve. As the fall calving season arrives, it is already time to start transitioning into breeding season. Preparing your cattle for the breeding season is a yearlong endeavor. The decisions you made at breeding last year, turnout, weaning and calving all impact your cattle’s ability to breed efficiently. As we transition into that all-important breeding season, let’s talk about the time before bulls are turned out – pre-breeding. Before we jump into the details of do’s and don’ts, let’s look at the question of breeding, holistically, and ask ourselves: What are we trying to achieve at breeding? The answer seems obvious – you are trying to get your cows bred. But not just bred. You want them to breed early. Why? Because early breeding will result in a tight calving window and a tight calving window will create a more uniform calf crop. A uniform calf crop creates substantial market advantages and higher returns. A study from South Dakota State University showed that calves bred one cycle earlier will weigh about 50 pounds more than a calf born later in the season. At $2.50/pound that is an additional $125/calf. Tracking calving distribution data can give you a benchmark to achieve this in your program. Calving Distributions Benchmarks One of the benchmarks CHAPS, a national
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cow herd software program, publishes annually is calving distributions. According to CHAPS: • 63% of the mature cow herd should calve within the first 21 of calving season. • 87% of the mature cow herd should calve within 42 days. • 96% of the mature cow herd should calve within 63 days. If we look at heifers, the data shows that 42 percent of heifers calve before their scheduled calving date, 76 percent of heifers by 21 days from the expected start of calving season, and 88 percent of heifers by 42 days. A good rule of thumb is two-thirds of your herd calving in the first 21 days and less than 25 percent calving in the second 21 days of calving season. Any more than that, you need to reevaluate your herd and breeding protocols. Ensuring your herd calves early in the calving season starts with ensuring that your herd breeds earlier in the breeding season, which is where pre-breeding protocols come into the equation. There are essentially three aspects that will impact how quickly a cow breeds, 1) nutrition, 2) herd health and 3) genetics. Focus on Nutrition When we are thinking about the breeding season, nutrition is key, and it is what all other aspects of a breeding program hinge on. Joe Catania, DVM, a longtime cattle veterinarian who practices in Modoc and Lassen counties, says, “There’s a lot of factors when you talk about preparing for the breeding season. Yet, number one is nutrition and energy status. It doesn’t matter what type of vaccine, deworming, or mineral program you have if nutrition isn’t there.