RyanChandler
Well-known member
Wonder what age bovine calve at in the wild?
-XBAR- said:Wonder what age bovine calve at in the wild?
vc said:I voted to let him stay even though he often goes to far, is onesided on criticism and can irritate at times, I did not know about all the personal attacks.
X-bar your bovine calving in the wild theory is flawed. Man has intervined and has bred cattle to meet certain criteria. Turn 100 h
eifers out with 5 bulls at six months old, check them at 2 years old, how many calves would be on the ground, how many heifer carcases would be in the field? If cattle are turned out in the wild and natural selection is allowed to occur you would end up with something like the Longhorn or the Cracker Cattle sans the horns. I do not think that is where most breeders want to go.
aj said:I think its interesting that cattle have a 9 month pregnancy and it takes 60-90 days to breed back(especially with out supplements or man made practices). That sets them perfectly with a seasonal cycle of one year. Green grass ......yhey thrive.....breed......calve in the spring and do it all over. Gods plan.....evolution or both. Buffalo herds kinda did the same thing.
aj said:Very cool. So apparently the younger females(bison) don't cycle early...........or don't sustain a pregnancy.......at an earlier date. This would be a evolutionary trait.......?............developed over 10,000 years....? Or not?
-XBAR- said:First 3 shorthorn herds I visited each had a cow producing at over 20yrs. Prior to that, I had never heard of anything like that. These were pasture cattle too.
That article about buffalo sounds like it was written by an outsider. They're receptive at 18 months, breed at 24 mnths, and then don't calve to 36mnths ??
-XBAR- said:First 3 shorthorn herds I visited each had a cow producing at over 20yrs. Prior to that, I had never heard of anything like that. These were pasture cattle too.
That article about buffalo sounds like it was written by an outsider. They're receptive at 18 months, breed at 24 mnths, and then don't calve to 36mnths ??
Our oldest cow just turned 14 and we have three 13 year old cows. The oldest cow we ever had in production was 18 and we have had a couple of 16 year olds. I often think we should put more emphasis on longevity. It would seem you could make a lot more money if your cows did not need to be replaced until they were in their teens. We have calved heifers at 21 months with no problems. One of those produced in our herd until she was 13 and the heifer calf she had at 21 months was still producing at 12.-XBAR- said:First 3 shorthorn herds I visited each had a cow producing at over 20yrs. Prior to that, I had never heard of anything like that. These were pasture cattle too.
That article about buffalo sounds like it was written by an outsider. They're receptive at 18 months, breed at 24 mnths, and then don't calve to 36mnths ??
Okotoks said:Our oldest cow just turned 14 and we have three 13 year old cows. The oldest cow we ever had in production was 18 and we have had a couple of 16 year olds. I often think we should put more emphasis on longevity. It would seem you could make a lot more money if your cows did not need to be replaced until they were in their teens. We have calved heifers at 21 months with no problems. One of those produced in our herd until she was 13 and the heifer calf she had at 21 months was still producing at 12.-XBAR- said:First 3 shorthorn herds I visited each had a cow producing at over 20yrs. Prior to that, I had never heard of anything like that. These were pasture cattle too.
That article about buffalo sounds like it was written by an outsider. They're receptive at 18 months, breed at 24 mnths, and then don't calve to 36mnths ??
blackdiamond said:Okotoks said:Our oldest cow just turned 14 and we have three 13 year old cows. The oldest cow we ever had in production was 18 and we have had a couple of 16 year olds. I often think we should put more emphasis on longevity. It would seem you could make a lot more money if your cows did not need to be replaced until they were in their teens. We have calved heifers at 21 months with no problems. One of those produced in our herd until she was 13 and the heifer calf she had at 21 months was still producing at 12.-XBAR- said:First 3 shorthorn herds I visited each had a cow producing at over 20yrs. Prior to that, I had never heard of anything like that. These were pasture cattle too.
That article about buffalo sounds like it was written by an outsider. They're receptive at 18 months, breed at 24 mnths, and then don't calve to 36mnths ??
If a cow doesn't calve until she's 4, but lives until she's 11-- what's more profitable- her or one that calves at 20 months and lives until she's 8 or 9???
It takes way more money to grow out out before she calves, than it does after she gets into production.