Page 7 - MWC 02-04-2021s
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The Midwest Cattleman · February 4, 2021 · P7
       Preparing Your Cows for A Successful Breeding Season


                                               By Dr. Les Anderson, Beef Extension Specialist, University of Kentucky
         A successful breeding season  of the breeding season, 55% of  calves from these thin cows will  this increased nutrient require-
      begins with management deci- the cows with a BCS of 4 had  be born later in the calving sea- ment. Rebreeding efficiency is
      sions made prior to calving. As  still not initiated estrous cy- son.                                   enhanced in cows that calved
      we move into the winter-feed- cles, while more than 90% of              Management of BCS after  thin if their energy intake is
      ing period for spring-calving  the cows in more moderate con- calving also impacts rebreed- increased (Rutter and Randle,
      cows, cattlemen need to review  dition had begun to cycle. Thin  ing efficiency. Maintenance re- 1984). Although the best man-
      their management plan to en- cows  need a  longer  breeding  quirements for energy and pro- agement plan is to calve cows
      sure optimal rebreeding and  season, which  results  in  more  tein increase 25-30% for most  in a BCS of 5+, increasing the
      success. Rebreeding efficiency  open cows in the fall. They may  beef cows after calving. Produc- energy to cows that are thin at
      can be optimized by focusing  also result in lighter calves to  ers need to plan their supple-                        continued on page 26
      on body condition score (BCS),  sell the next year because the  mentation to match or exceed
      early assistance during calving
      difficulty, scheduling a breed-
      ing soundness exam for the
      herd sires, planning their herd
      reproductive health program,
      and developing a plan to reg-
      ulate estrus in their first-calf
      heifers and late-calving cows.
         Reproductive management
      begins with evaluation and                   Annual Gelbvieh & Balancer Bull & Female Sale
      management of BCS. Body con-
      dition score is a numerical es-           Saturday, March 6, 2021
      timation of the amount of fat
      on the cow’s body. Body condi-
      tion score ranges from 1-9; 1 is                 12:30 PM • Joplin Regional Stockyards • Carthage, Missouri
      emaciated while 9 is extremely
      obese. A change in a single BCS
      (i.e., 4-5) is usually associated            Offering 50 Head - 12-18 Month Old Purebred
      with about a 75- pound change                                   Gelbvieh & Balancer Bulls
      in body weight. Evaluation of
      BCS prior to calving and from
      calving to breeding is import-
      ant to ensure reproductive suc-
      cess.
         Rebreeding performance of
      cows is greatly influenced by
      BCS at calving. Cows that are
      thin (BCS < 5) at calving take
      longer to resume estrous cy-
      cles and therefore are delayed
      in their ability to rebreed. Re-
      search has clearly demonstrat-
      ed that as precalving BCS de-                     HTFG MR LEADER H009                     HTFG MR BRUCE ALMIGHTY H008
      creases, the  number  of days
      from one calving to the next                BA 50%       REG #: AMGV1490590              PUREBRED      REG#:  AMGV1490589
      (calving    interval)   increases                 HOMOZYGOUS BLACK/                             HOMOZYGOUS POLLED
      in beef cows. Females with a                      HOMOZYGOUS POLLED
      precalving BCS of less than 5
      tend to have production cycles          Select Group of Open Purebred Gelbvieh & Balancer Heifers
      greater than 1 year. For ex-                   all females pelvic measured & reproductive scored
      ample, cows with a  precalving
      BCS of 3 would be expected to                                 Sale broadcast live on DV Auction.com
      have a calving interval of ap-                                Videos of sale bulls & heifers will be on dvauction.com
      proximately 400 days, while a
      cow with a precalving BCS of 6          Call or Email Us to Receive a Catalog!
                                              Call or Email Us to Receive a Catalog!
                                              Call or Email Us to Receive a Catalog!
                                              Call or Email Us to Receive a Catalog!
      would have a calving interval of
                                              hilltop-farms@hotmail.com • 417-842-3225
      approximately 360 days. South           hilltop-farms@hotmail.com • 417-842-3225
                                              hilltop-farms@hotmail.com • 417-842-3225
                                              hilltop-farms@hotmail.com • 417-842-3225
      Dakota research illustrates the
      influence of precalving BCS on
      the percentage of cows that ini-                                                                                  Put a bull with the
      tiated estrous cycles after calv-
      ing.  This experiment demon-
      strated  that the  percentage  of       Elmer, Brenda, Brad, Katie, Kinsley, Brody                                   H
      thin cows that were cycling in          Benny, Sarah & Taegan McWilliams                                                 F
      the first month of the breeding
      season (June) was considerably           417-529-0081 |  417-529-7556  |  517-529-6436
      lower than for cows that were           Committed to Raising Quality Seedstock                                 brand to work for you for
      in more moderate body condi-            WWW.HILLTOP-FARMS.COM
      tion. During the second month
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