Beef Cattle Meat Cuts What Is the Gestation Length for a Cow

• Controlled Calving Flavour
• Checking for Pregnancy
• Strategic Supplementation
• Body Condition
• Heifer Development, Choice and Breeding
• Herd Health
• Dystocia
• Breeding-Soundness Exam
• Summary

Reproductive efficiency has long been recognized as the about of import attribute of commercial beef production. If only 50 percent of the cows wean a calf, crossbreeding, superior genetics and sound management become insignificant.

Marked variations exist in the pct calf ingather among Georgia beefiness cattle herds. Well-managed herds have a calf crop of more than ninety per centum, while poorly managed herds may actually take less than a 75 pct calf ingather. This variation in calf crop tin can be the difference between profit and loss.

To encounter production expenses, a producer must boilerplate a calf crop of more than 85 pct.

Today, many beef cattle producers are paying for the privilege of being in the cattle business organization, merely a few innovative operation changes could significantly ameliorate profit potential. Improved herd management and selection for reproductive operation tin essentially increment the pct calf ingather.

A producer should have a goal of a 95 percent calf ingather during a 60-day calving flavor, with a 500-pound plus average weaning weight. As shown in Table i, percent calf crop has a dandy influence on the calf production per moo-cow exposed. For case, a Georgia producer with an 85 percentage dogie crop would produce 425 pounds of calf per cow with a 500-pound weaning weight.

Tabular array 1. Pounds of Calf Produced per Cow
Pct Calf Crop	Boilerplate Weaning Weight
	600	500	400
100	600	500	400
95	570	475	380
90	540	450	360
85	510	425	340
80	480	400	320
75	450	375	300
lxx	420	350	280

Tabular array ii illustrates the influence of calf ingather and weaning weight on returns per cow. Notice that improving the calf ingather percentage from 80 to 90 percent produces most the same economic proceeds as increasing the weaning weight from 500 to 600 pounds. Efficient direction, withal, is an fine art and skill that requires manipulating several factors that affect internet productivity. For case, a good manager could improve weaning weight from 400 to 600 pounds while also increasing the calf crop from 80 to 95 percent — the net result existence an increase of $204 per moo-cow exposed.

Reproductive direction is the combination of using proven beef cattle direction skills
and practical economical principles to attain the most economically efficient functioning possible.

Tabular array 2. Dollars Returned per Cow — October.-Nov. v Year Avg.*
Percent Dogie Ingather	Average Weaning Weight
	600	500	400
100	$612	$545	$472
95	$582	$518	$448
90	$551	$491	$425
85	$520	$463	$401
80	$490	$436	$378
75	$459	$409	$354
lxx	$420	$382	$330
Georgia Sale Markets – 2009-2011. *$/cwt: $102 (600 lbs.); $109 (500 lbs.); $118 (400 lbs.)

To accomplish this goal, the following key management areas are essential:

• Controlled Calving/Convenance Season
• Strategic Supplementation
• Herd Wellness

Controlled Calving Flavor

The most of import direction conclusion in a beef functioning is to establish a controlled calving season.When establishing a controlled calving season, you may need to start with a 180-day breeding flavor at start, followed by a 120-day convenance flavour, then a 90-day breeding season and finally a lx-day breeding flavour. A 45-day breeding season may be feasible under certain direction conditions. Y'all can detect a more consummate description of how to initiate a controlled calving flavor in the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Bulletin 1307 "Converting to a Controlled Breeding Season."

The flavor or time of the yr that calves are built-in influences the calf crop percentage and should exist dictated by the available forage supply, labor and marketplace for the calves. Cows that calve about 30 to threescore days before the most abundant grass product will ordinarily wean more than calves annually than cows that calve during other seasons.

If good-quality wintertime grazing is available, calving during the late fall may be an alternative. Cows wintered on hay and short pasture will have better success with tardily winter or early bound calving. Avoid calving during the summer considering the calves volition weigh less at weaning. For help identifying the all-time calving season in your area, visit other producers and talk to your local county Extension agent (i-800-Enquire-UGA1).

Checking for Pregnancy

After the end of the convenance season, examine all cows and heifers for pregnancy. Because heifers should be bred start, they can be examined earlier than cows. Pregnancy checking of heifers can be done by rectal palpation afterward 35 to 90 days, by ultrasound examination after 30 to 90 days, or by blood analysis after xxx days.

If more meaning heifers are available than are needed for replacements, the heifers that became significant last may exist sold as bred replacement heifers. A competent palpator tin can make up one's mind the convenance date quite accurately when cattle are 35 to 110 days into gestation.

Many producers prefer to palpate cows every bit the calves are weaned in the fall. Cows are likewise commonly treated at this time for grubs, lice and internal parasites. At this fourth dimension, cows should be about 150 days significant. Although the adventure for an accurate confirmation of breeding engagement by palpation is lower at this time, determining pregnancy is easier for the less-experienced palpator. A blood test conducted xxx days post-breeding or ninety days mail-calving can determine pregnancy but will not signal the stage of pregnancy.

A skilled, experienced individual – usually the local large-animal veterinarian – should do the pregnancy palpation determination. Knowledge of female reproductive tract anatomy and the physiological changes associated with various stages of pregnancy are necessary to go competent at determining pregnancy status.

Failure to become pregnant accounts for about 75 percentage of calf crop reductions. Open up cows and heifers should be culled from the herd before the winter feeding flow. Since a cow that is open at weaning time will not wean another calf for 2 years, this same period could exist used to put a heifer calf into product. Research has shown that heifers that fail to breed the start twelvemonth and are held over have an average lifetime calf crop of 55 percent, compared to 86 percentage for herd mates that get pregnant the first year.

Pregnancy determination and culling all open up females will increment reproductive efficiency within ii or three years (Tabular array iii).

A controlled calving flavor likewise allows the manager to accept better care of both heifers and mature cows in groups since feeding efficiency can be improved when similar animals are grouped and sorted. For example, all females in a group should exist at a similar stage of pregnancy or lactation and have similar nutritional requirements. Grouped animals tin can also be monitored closely to determine supplement needs.

Tabular array iii. Effect of a Controlled Calving Flavor and Alternative Open Cows on Calving Percent and Weaning Weights
Year	Percentage Pregnant	Weaning Weight (lbs)
1953	44	350
1954	55	415
1955	82	432
1956	86	428
1957	88	431
1958	88	422
1959	92	406
1960 to 1964	94	508
University of Florida -- 1973.

Strategic Supplementation

A successful rebreeding plan depends on many factors. Nearly of import are the body status of the cows and heifers at the time of calving and the feeding level after calving. Inadequate pre-calving diet volition effect in a lower torso condition score plus increased number of days from calving to first heat. A reduced free energy intake subsequently calving results in a decreased conception rate at the early heats.

Inadequate nutrition will upshot in delayed rebreeding,
later calving dates and a decreased calf ingather percentage.

The commencement-dogie heifer is particularly difficult to rebreed after calving. The demands of lactation and growth tin cause an extended interval from calving to first estrus ranging from 120 to 150 days; therefore, heifers are more likely to breed back at the same time equally mature cows. If a heifer is thin at calving, she may not return to rut inside the desired breeding season. Heifers should be bred two to three weeks earlier than the mature cows and sorted so they tin can be fed properly.

Getting first-calf heifers rebred on a yearly calving schedule is
1 of the greatest challenges facing the moo-cow-calf producer.

Body Condition

The torso condition of a pre-calving moo-cow will influence her post-calving feed needs as well as her rebreeding performance. Cows that are thin pre-calving crave more feed to rebreed following calving, and cows in good body condition need to be maintained.

The influence of trunk status at the fourth dimension of calving on subsequent rebreeding tin be seen in Table 4. These cows had calved 65 to 83 days earlier the starting time of the breeding flavor. As shown, three times as many cows in moderate body condition were significant after a lx-day breeding season than sparse cows. The sparse cows failed to become pregnant considering they did not come in heat and were never serviced.

Failure to come in heat is the almost common reason that first-calf heifers and sparse cows fail to become pregnant.

For a more consummate understanding of torso condition, refer to UGA Cooperative Extension Bulletin 1308 "Torso Condition Scoring Beef Cows."

Table 4. Influence of Body Condition at Calving on Pregnancy Ratess
Body Condition at Calving	% Pregnant afterward Breeding for:
	20 days	60 days
Sparse	four	24
Moderate	27	61
Skillful	65	87

Heifer Development, Selection and Convenance

Development of replacement heifers is a primal element in improved herd reproductive functioning. The fourth dimension between weaning and rebreeding is disquisitional if you lot wait a high conception rate. Weight is an of import factor in when a heifer reaches puberty; therefore, heifers should reach their target weight past xv months of historic period for optimum reproduction. Heifers from British breeds should weigh at least 650 pounds at the get-go of the breeding season. The larger Continental breeds should weigh at least 750 pounds. Crossbred heifers tend to attain puberty at a slightly younger age and lighter weight than straight-bred heifers.

Heifers should weigh at least 65 pct of their expected mature body weight
at the showtime of the breeding flavor. This weight is referred to as the target weight.

Counterbalance heifers then they tin can proceeds necessary weight by the target breeding date. Heifers volition commonly need to gain 1 i/2 to 1 3/4 pounds per day to reach their target weights. Because heifers should exist bred iii or 4 weeks before the cow herd, in near cases, they volition average simply 14 months of historic period at the showtime of the breeding flavor. Calculate the number of days from weaning to the beginning of the convenance season to determine the average daily gain needed to reach the target weight.

For example, a 500-pound Crossbred heifer weaned at 250 days needs to weigh 750 pounds at 14 months (420 days) of historic period to brood early on. That gives her 170 days to proceeds the boosted weight. Thus, the average daily proceeds to breeding would exist 250 pounds (750-500) divided by 170 days, or 1 one/two pounds per mean solar day.

Heifers selected for breeding should be built-in during the first half of the calving season. These heifers should be older, heavier and out of the more than highly fertile cows. Consequently, they should take a amend take chances of reaching puberty and conceiving early. Select more heifers to breed than needed for replacements; usually 50 percent more than are needed to replace the cows culled from the herd. Brood heifers for no longer than a 65-twenty-four hour period breeding season and sell all open heifers.

A 65-24-hour interval breeding season is equal to 3 chances for heifers to excogitate. If sufficient significant heifers
are available, go along simply those that conceive early (in the starting time 30 days) every bit herd replacements.

Breed heifers to a bull known to sire modest calves at nascence. There are bulls within each breed (some more than than others) that sire pocket-size, healthy calves.

During the first production cycle, the most important gene is for a heifer
to produce a alive calf and breed dorsum inside the next convenance flavor.

Herd Health

The third and possibly most neglected aspect of reproductive management is herd health. A herd tin be operating on a 60-day calving flavour with an platonic nutrition program and still still be devastated by a disease outbreak or the sterility of a once-dependable bull. A total herd health programme formulated by the producer and veterinary is the best solution.

Your local big animal veterinarian is the most qualified person to outline a vaccination plan that will protect against the about serious diseases. His expertise in disease diagnosis and vaccine pick is invaluable only frequently overlooked. The major diseases that tin impair reproductive efficiency are Leptospirosis, Vibriosis, Brucellosis and Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR), and Bovine Virus Diarrhea (BVD). Vaccines for these diseases are available and prevention is a much amend alternative to a reduced calf crop.

Earlier vaccinating, consult a veterinarian for advice on the vaccination program for a particular herd.

Other primary areas of importance in a full herd health program include dystocia and breeding-soundness evaluation of the bull.

Dystocia

Some other major loss in percent dogie crop often occurs at or near calving and is associated with abnormal presentation of the fetus and delayed or difficult deliveries (dystocia). Abnormal presentations, particularly backward presentations, are major causes of calving difficulty and dogie losses in mature cows. However, the bulk of all dogie losses occur in first-calf heifers, even though they may only represent 20 per centum of the full herd. Delayed and hard deliveries are common in heifers bred to sires with loftier nativity and weaning weights and the heifer has a relatively small pelvic opening. Selecting heifers that have a 140 square cm or higher pelvic opening at or nigh breeding will solve most calving issues other than abnormal presentations.

Most calves can be saved from aberrant presentations and delayed or difficult deliveries if the appropriate aid is given at the proper time; therefore, cows and heifers must be checked frequently to minimize calf losses. Start watching cows and heifers a trivial more closely when they show a lot of udder swelling and vulva relaxation. Bank check mature cows twice a twenty-four hour period and heifers every 6 hours, or more oftentimes if signs of calving are present.

Knowing when to assist with a delivery yourself and when to contact the veterinary for professional assistance can exist a complex decision. If a cow or heifer has made little progress in calving during a ii-hour menstruum, she should be moved into a calving area to determine the reason for the delay. Most calving problems tin be handled by an experienced cattleman with proper equipment. Call your veterinary if you suspect an abnormal presentation or if y'all are unfamiliar with the problems. Further delays in calving may result in a expressionless calf or a filibuster in rebreeding the moo-cow.

Exercise not attempt to pull a dogie if yous accept non learned the proper procedures from your veterinarian or another professional person. Refer to UGA Cooperative Extension Bulletin 943 "Factors Affecting Calving Difficulty" for more than details.

Breeding-Soundness Examination

A breeding-soundness exam of the bull's reproductive tract and a semen evaluation by a qualified technician or veterinarian should be made each year at least 30 days before the beginning of the breeding flavour. Watch the bulls in the breeding pasture to make sure they are finding cows in oestrus and mating with them. About ane out of ten bulls lacks the desire or ability to impregnate cows; therefore, cattlemen should check cows 17 to 22 days after their heats to see if the cows that should have been bred are coming back in heat.

The number of cows per bull will vary with the bull's age, condition and libido. Use an adequate number of bulls with skilful libidos. Bulls should exist in good torso condition, but not fatty, at the beginning of the breeding season. Young, growing bulls may require extra feed during the breeding flavour to meet their protein and energy needs. A yearling bull should not be expected to breed more than 20 to 25 cows, while a mature bull with good libido tin breed 25 to 40, or more.

Summary

With increasing input costs, you need at least an 85 percent dogie crop to realize a return on investment. Y'all tin achieve this goal past:

1. shortening the calving season to between 45 and 60 days,
2. providing supplements only during disquisitional periods,
3. keeping the herd good for you, and
4. e'er following sound management practices.

Past following the production practices outlined in this publication, you can make a goal of a 95-plus percent calf crop during a 45-day calving flavour with a 600-pound boilerplate weaning weight a reality.

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Condition and Revision History
Published on Feb 01, 1995
In Review on Feb 03, 2009
Published with Major Revisions on Aug 28, 2009
Published with Minor Revisions on Jun 19, 2012
Published with Total Review on Mar 31, 2017

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Source: https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=B864

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