Doug61 - 2/26/2024 07:32

My girls get supplemental feed (corn gluten feed) until green up. When grass gets ahead of them, they take care of themselves to sustain body condition until weaning. My forage is native warm season grasses so my timing would seem extra long into the calendar compared to anyone with brome or fescue pastures.

My 2's have 3 months calves during this transition. Virgin yearlings run with them as well as old cows and some 3 year olds with calf.

Weaning comes at 7-8 months. I maybe should wean the calves off at a little younger. About 20-30% of the 2's will loose condition in late lactation. These will stay in the high grocery pasture. The rest of the 2's are moved to the mature cow pasture. Lastly, any extra thin cow, usually 2 head out of 60, will be sorted to the high grocery group at their weaning, if needed.

We used to have access to 60 acres of fescue pasture. Logistically,it was handy to use for the high grocery group. We lost it when sold.

Breedup for both virgins and 2's improved on native pasture. Last year 60 day exposure yielded 100%. That's unusual. 95% is more common over the long haul. I'm dealing with 25-40 head total so
percentages within a class of females jumps when 1-2 girls fail to breed.