Seasonal Calving

I wanted to add a little more to the previous breeding post, most specifically about moving breeding dates, and timing calving along with managing the pasture.  It seems no matter where I look, it’s hard to get away from the industrial model of year round everything.  Cattle are no exception, whether it be dairy or beef.  I never for the life of me can figure why someone who seeks out a local farmer for meat or milk because they are unhappy ( and usually quite vocal about it) with industrial farming, and then turn around and demand those same products year around without all the industrial trappings of industrial agriculture.  And I am truly amazed at all the small farmers that are willing to try to supply them.  If you want to change your cows calving date this post may give you some pointers.

Jane heard me in the corn patch, apparently she didn’t get the memo that ruminants aren’t supposed to eat corn!

For me, with my land/pasture and husbandry skill set, late spring calving works the best.  To that end I need to breed in August.  For my cows to earn their keep they need to calve every year after age two or three.  A cows gestation period is about 9 months, so if you count back from the breeding date three months you know approximately when your calves will be born.  With good grass to back up the cows during the stressful time of giving birth, lactation and having to come into heat again, late spring calving makes the most sense.  A cow calving in fall may be fat and sassy after a whole summer on grass, but she can quickly lose condition, and then be expected to be healthy enough to keep milking, cycle, and rebreed just when the dark days are here.  Remember, she needs to calve every year to earn her keep.  Fall pasture flush is usually pretty wan and washy, so not really full of nutrition and minerals, besides this tender fall grass should be shepherded itself and rested, not nipped in the bud by a cow headed for peak lactation.

So now you know the why, the how is a little more difficult if you decide you want to go seasonal.  Moving a fall calving cow to spring is not the easiest thing to do.  It’s not simple math, which is what usually gets most new farmers and even some seasoned ones in trouble, if they refuse to take biology into account.

I’ll use Jane as an example.  She has lost two weeks in her short 2 lactation life already and if I screw around too much (pun intended) she can quickly move further into summer which is not what I want.  She calved in ’12 at the end of May, she didn’t take AI, so the next cycle, I sent her to the bull, or rather she drug us across the road and we just opened gates.  She settled and then proceeded to carry Dickie an extra 10 days or so from her “due date.”  This year Jane came into heat on July 25th, no bull here, I wasn’t exactly convinced I wanted to go the AI route, so I let that window pass.  A July 25 breeding would have yielded a due date of May 1, 2014, had she been bred that would move her back 6 weeks.  Jane is due to come in this week, so now the dilemma.  If I use AI, or breed her to the bull the calf would be due May 22, which is perfect for me and Jane.  I’m pretty confident with live cover she’ll settle, AI not so much, my AI guy is always busy this week of August with his county fair, and he’s not available any evening.  So timing is of the essence.  If she doesn’t come in at the right time of day,  AI is out.  So going a little further here with this worst case scenario, if she doesn’t take AI, her next cycle assuming 21 days, would be September 5th, which would put her at a calving date of June 12th, 2014, say she goes over 10 days again, which I can assume she might since the mating is the same pair if I use the bull, we’ll be at the end of June for a calf.  That’s getting late for me, the first couple of weeks with a newly freshened milk cow is the pits, and takes up a huge amount of time until all post calving issues are taken care of.  I also need to be doing hay, and a June is a huge amount of work in the garden so of course, this is all doable, but if I can avoid these types of conflicts just by scheduling breeding, for sure, I will exercise that option.

It takes years to move a cow’s calving date backwards on the calendar and you see you might only gain 3 weeks per year, because a cow has to have all systems in good working order before she will ovulate again after calving.  If you have a cow in a negative energy balance you can kiss quick breed back goodbye until you address the inadequate feed/production ratio.

It’s always easier to move the other way on the calendar and get it over in one year.  You might lose 6 months, but you won’t spend years agonizing over gaining a measly 3 weeks at a time.  So say you buy a cow and she is due January, but you want her to calve in May after you make your purchase.  That time frame is actually the easiest to remedy because all you have to do is delay breeding to the date you want.  Just because the cow is cycling doesn’t mean she has to be bred.  Of course, that makes things get a little hairy in the parlor every three weeks, because cows in heat are dangerous hormonal machines ready to climb on you and leap fences to get to a bull, even if there isn’t a bull around.  Which translates to they will climb on you if you’re not careful.  The bull may be the most dangerous animal in the herd, but the cow in season is next.

brat pack

To simplify this, delaying breeding one time only uses up about 5 – 6 months, early breeding even if it is possible (depending on the cows health) will take years to move the breeding date.  Basically if you had a 4-year-old cow and you wanted to move her from September or October calving to May she most likely would be about 10 when you finally achieve your May calving date.  Five or six months or five of six years, you decide.