TLH - Newsletter (englisch)
Used courtesy of Dickinson Cattle Co. USA
Plan More Calves
Erstellt am: von Longhorn
DCC Ranch e-News ##414 - 8-21-2025
by Darol Dickinson
BULL MANAGEMENT
Most ranches have too many bulls. To manage for specific qualities, use the best bull or bulls for the most calves, and don't use the bottom end bulls at all. A healthy mature Texas Longhorn bull can breed 60 to 150 cows per year, unlike other less athletic breeds. Forget what the colleges say about calving in a 45 day or 60 day time period and using one bull per 20 cows. That is for short-legged breeds that have major calving problems that require constant surveillance and costly labor. If the best bull needs more time to get them all bred, do it. It is profitable to have more calves by the best bull even if calving is spread throughout the whole year.
At DCC Jam Box is a once in a life time bull. It is planned for him to breed over 100 cows in 4 months. He is doing his best. To help him, every morning at first light Brad Blair brings him his morning breakfast. Although not steak and eggs, it is a mix of grains with top dressing of trace minerals. A balanced mineral top dressing is important as some bulls don't eat a normal amount of free choice minerals--although they need it for maximum energy.
If the bull pushed to maximum breeding numbers can't retain weight, feed him grain every day. Slowly build him up to two or three gallons of grain per day fed in his pasture. Keep the cows away so he can eat it all. The extra nutrition will give him more stamina and increase fertility. One well managed bull, well cared for will do the job of several bulls.
A one bull program may be economical, but has limitations. Seldom ever will one bull work well with every cow. When it is obvious the one good bull hasn't worked well on certain cows, separate those cows from him and AI to a bull known to correct the genetic issues. Some sell the heifers from a good bull so he will not be breeding his daughters. Don't do that. Keep the best heifers and AI them to a superior unrelated bull. Don't feed any more bulls than absolutely necessary.
Bulls will breed more cows in less time if they have smaller pastures. Divide large pastures into smaller ones to limit the time required by a bull to manage his herd. Rotate the use of pastures.
Keep electric fences between bulls. Electricity trains bulls to stay away from fences, not to rub their horns on the barb wire and not to spar through the fence with other bulls. Electric will help train a bull so he doesn't get bad habits and will have many trouble free breeding seasons.
MULTIPLY THE BEST
Good management is using the best specimens in the herd for herd improvement. Some sell the "goose that lays the golden egg" and that ends the source of outstanding progeny. To be sure of the best use of the best genetics, keep that great cow until she produces a great son and at least three daughters, then sell her only if you need the money. That will guarantee the special blood in the herd will stay and contribute for herd improvement many years to come. Unless the wolf is eating down your door, never sell your best cow.
RECORDS
Keep good management records to know what happened, how it happened and how to make successful things happen again and again.Make notes of cows being bred during feeding times. People with good records can avoid the high costs and aggravation of DNA PV testing. A well planned breeding program will help raise more and better calves.
Dickinson Cattle Co., Inc.; 35000 Muskrat Rd.; Barnesville, OH 43713; 740 758-5050