We aim for our heifers to be at least 55 to 65 percent of their mature weight. This is when the heifer reaches puberty, a necessity for breeding. Many heifers are bred around 12 to 14 months old. Until they reach the appropriate age and weight to reproduce, they spend their days gaining weight. On a dairy, these heifers are raised to eventually become milking cows. Raising HeifersĪ heifer is a female cow that has not had a baby yet. While genetics are important, the proper nutrition and breeding practices also greatly impact our future herd. This means their calves (should they eventually produce milk) will produce A2 milk. For the last four years, we have been selecting 100% A2 bulls. In addition to a bull’s health traits, feet and legs, we also look for whether the bull is A1 or A2. When selecting the bulls we use for breeding, we are looking for several characteristics that could be passed down to his calf. These calves will either be raised on our farm for beef or sold to other producers who will raise them. In the spring and summer, however, we allow Angus bulls into the field to breed about 50 percent of our herd. Most of our herd are Holstein and Brown swiss, so those are our preferred breeds. For those bulls, we look to the dairy breeds: Holstein, Jersey, Brown Swiss, Ayrshire, Guernsey, and Milking Shorthorn. In the fall, we use artificial insemination with a selected dairy bull in hopes of getting a heifer (female that has not had a baby) who will eventually become one of our dairy cows. Our breed selection depends largely on our plans for that potential calf. There is a lot that goes into breeding to get the best dairy cows we can, and it starts with selecting the right breed to breed our lovely ladies with. Raising our future dairy cows properly is important, starting with their genetics and ending with their nutrition and breeding. Through careful selection of bulls, we are able to raise our own dairy cows and beef cattle from start to finish. Without careful breeding, our products wouldn’t be what they are. While you might recognize our business for our milk or our cheese, we are also in the business of breeding cattle.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |