How Long Do You Have to Wait Before Cows Can Reproduce Again

The aim as a beefiness producer is to match the nutritional requirements of the convenance herd to the seasonal pattern of pasture supply.

In many areas of Victoria at that place are two periods of growth:

• fall
• spring.

These periods are separated past a period of low growth in wintertime.

The summer catamenia is generally dry, and irrigation is used in some districts to extend the pasture-growing season. In E Gippsland there may be summer rainfall that extends the growth of pasture into the late leap and summer.

Time of calving

Time of calving is a major management determination that affects the matching of the moo-cow and calve's needs to pasture production.

A spring-born calf has to spend a few months on dry out summer pasture  when it is even so quite immature; whilst an autumn-built-in dogie is grazing an abundance of spring pasture during this equivalent stage of growth. The spring-born calf is often weaned early on and given preferential feeding during the autumn.

In areas of summer rainfall or on backdrop with irrigation, the spring growing menses is extended and spring-born calves may abound similarly to autumn-born calves.

Autumn-calving cows are joined with bulls in winter when trivial pasture grows. Calving cows must be managed so that they calve in a body condition that volition allow them to utilise body reserves during this menses and ensure that they do not autumn beneath a body condition that will exist detrimental to their fertility.

Spread of calving

At that place are advantages in managing the entire herd to calve downward during a set menses, rather than extending calving over many months or over the entire year.

Restricted versus unrestricted calving

Most beef producers restrict the mating period to almost nine to 12 weeks. You should aim to get as many of the cows pregnant during the starting time 3 weeks of mating and so that they will have a skilful take chances of conceiving again early in the side by side joining menstruation.

Restricting calving spread enables more controlled management.

If all cows are at about the aforementioned stage of pregnancy:

• supplementary feeding volition be more than effective.

If calving is unrestricted:

• pregnant cows may well receive more than their requirements, and lactating cows may receive much less than they demand during mating.

Extended calving

Extended calving periods mean unnecessarily prolonged demand for supervision at calving, with the result that supervision may become irregular and deaths are more likely to occur.

Short calving periods result in more even lines of calves existence available for auction and this could increase total returns.

Mating twice a year

Another system is twice a yr mating. This may exist of use to producers with an extended calving period who wish to reduce the spread of calving. One group could calve in autumn and the other group in spring.

All calves at aforementioned age

If all calves are of a similar age, procedures such every bit marker and weaning can be washed at the same time for the unabridged herd. Tape keeping can be simplified and labour requirements reduced.

Reducing the calving arrangement

The of import matter to recall is that whichever system is adopted the cows should exist managed so that they calve at the same time each year with as short a calving season as can be managed.

Level of nutrition to prevent calving problems

The conception rate in most autumn-calving beef herds is satisfactory. This indicates that although the cows are being joined in winter the level of diet is by and large acceptable.

But if the level of nutrition is depressed because of increased stocking rate or a poor season, cow bodyweight and condition will fall, peculiarly in wintertime. Supplementary feeding should decrease weight loss, merely unless the feed is of very high quality, it will non increase liveweight.

Overfat cows at calving may exist a problem on some backdrop where cows are carried at a low stocking charge per unit, as over fatness can crusade calving issues.

The use of condition scoring

Condition scoring should be used every bit a management aid, specially with the breeding herd.

Target condition scores

In autumn-calving beef herds, during spring cows regain the condition they lost between summertime and the stop of winter, with losses between December to calving, and further losses betwixt calving and the end of winter or end of mating.

• For a cow to calve at the same time each twelvemonth she must mate past day 84 after calving or else she will calve afterwards than the previous year.
• You lot should aim to accept as many cows as possible calve inside the first vi and preferably the first 3 weeks of calving, therefore we should effort and have the maximum number of cows conceive by 105 days after the commencement of calving.
• You should always endeavour and maximise feed resources and endeavour to ensure that the virtually efficient apply is made of available feed. This means giving priority to different classes of stock.

Now considering the influence of condition score and feeding level on the return to cycling and the ability of the cow to withstand quite substantial condition score losses, we tin can put these facts into expert use.

At pregnancy testing half dozen weeks after the bulls are taken out, we should attempt to identify early on and late calving cows. Vets should exist able to practise this without much problem, providing it is done early on plenty.

This information tells the states:

• if we are going to keep the cow the following yr
• her probable feed requirements afterward calving.

An early-calving mature cow tin can beget to calve down in a slightly lower body status score every bit she will still accept enough of fourth dimension to wheel before the 105 days are up. The later-calving cow has to be in improve body status at calving so that she will cycle sooner after calving which will enable her to bring together before the 105 days are up.

Therefore, at weaning we must condition score and sort upwards the cows into five groups:

1. Drys
2. Early on calving cows in better condition
3. Early calving cows in poorer condition
4. Late calving cows
5. Commencement calving cows.

Try and keep only those due to calve in the commencement 6 weeks of calving.

We now accept cows in mobs of feed priority:

• tardily calving mature cows
• starting time calving cows
• early calving poorer condition cows
• early calving meliorate condition cows.

It is of import to recollect that it is pointless feeding a fatty moo-cow simply because a few of her herd mates need feeding. The principal reason for putting cows into mobs of feed priority, is to maximise the use of available feed resources and utilise the cow's power to 'feed off her back'.

Pre-calving

Pre-calving is the final time y'all will be able to hands sort up cows if needed. If any of the cows are not at their target status score at this phase they could be drafted off and put onto better feed. Also typhoon off any that are well higher up the target condition score, as they can beget to utilise more condition over winter and could perhaps be fed less than the others.

Target weights for cows before calving:

• early calving mature cows — CS 2.5 to 3.0, and fall to 2.0 to ii.v at end of winter
• early on calving outset calving cows — CS ii.v to 3.0.
• late calving mature cows - CS iii.0 to 3.five.

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Source: https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/livestock-and-animals/beef/breeding/managing-breeding-herds-before-mating

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