At what weight are cattle weaned?

At what weight are cattle weaned?

We believe the range for an ideal commercial cow is 1050-1250 lbs. She should wean 45-65 percent of her body weight while breeding back in a timely manner every year. This range takes into account year to year differences in feed availability, age of cow, and differences between ranches.

How long does it take to background a cow?

This option involves 30 days of grazing on fall pasture or corn crop residues followed by 165 days of winter feeding. After the winter feeding period, the calves are put on spring pasture (usually in mid-May) for 50 days, and then sold in early July. On fall pasture, the calves should gain 1.5-1.75 pounds per day.

What weight do you have to be to join a heifer?

British breed heifers should weigh at least 275-280 kg at joining, while the later maturing European breeds should weigh at least 320 kg. When returns from beef cattle are good, it is worth bringing heifers into production as early as possible.

What is the best weight to sell cattle?

In general, the value of gain on 300-400 pound calves tends to be higher than for 500-600 pound calves. Use the light-weight feeder steers as a base to view the price differences as you add weight to various endpoints. This measurement is commonly used by stocker operators.

How old is a 100 pound calf?

between five to fifteen days old
My example 100 pound calf could be between five to fifteen days old. She is eating very little calf starter grain. She is depending almost entirely on milk or milk replacer for both energy and protein.

What is a good weaning weight?

Sixty two percent of the calves were weaned between 170 and 230 days of age and replacement heifer calves had an average weaning weight of 532 lbs while bull and steer calves had an average weaning weight of 559 lbs.

What is the difference between stocker and feeder cattle?

The term pasture cattle is intended to refer to cattle considered to be stockers, feeders and/or slaughter cattle. Stockers Refers to weaned calves grazing pasture to enhance growth prior to finishing and slaughter; they are usually younger, weigh less, and are of lower condition (finish) than “feeders.”

Can a bull breed his offspring?

Can a bull breed with its offspring, daughter and granddaughter, without genetic problems? You can have father-daughter matings in beef cattle, but it is not recommended. This type of breeding practice is called inbreeding or close breeding.

How old is a heifer?

Most heifers will reach puberty and be bred by 12 to 14 months of age and will be between 55% and 65% of their mature weight when they first begin to exhibit estrous cycles.

What is the best time of year to sell cattle?

The best time to sell calves is when the market is high. Traditionally, February and March are the best times of the year. During this time, wheat and oats are readily available for grazing and growing calves.

What is the best age to sell cattle?

Then, recognizing that cows appreciate in the market until they are four years old, hold their own until about six years old and then depreciate, you might want to consider selling most of the cows as bred cows by the time they are six years old.

How much weight can a backgrounded cow gain?

With the feed required for the 383-pound calves produced by the typical beef cow, about 446 pounds of backgrounding gain can be produced if 2 percent death loss is figured for the backgrounded calves (325 pound gain x 1.4 head x 0.98).

What do you need to know about backgrounding cattle?

‘Backgrounding’ is grazing an animal on pasture or in a veld camp and feeding it a supplement in preparation for more intensive feeding in a feedlot. Before backgrounding your cattle, get to know the nutrient quality of the pasture.

How many pounds of feed do cattle need to gain one pound?

The reason you have numbers that are much higher than that may be due to many factors. Cattle convert (pounds of feed per pounds of gain) at around 5.5 to 6.5 in the feedlot. That means you need to feed about 5.5 to 6.5 pounds of diet (assuming normal finishing diet) for an animal to gain 1 pound.

What’s the best weight to buy for a steer?

You will want to buy the weight, sex and type of cattle that best fits your production and marketing plan. Cattle weighing from 250 to 650 pounds or heavier can be backgrounded before they go to the feedlot. Purchase weights of 350 to 550 pounds are most popular for steer calves. Heifers will tend to weigh 30 to 50 pounds less at a similar age.