I have a vision for the type of cattle we want, moderate-framed females that are fertile and functional, meaning they have fantastic udders. Today I want to talk about something significant with having functional females, and that is preg checking cows and making sure that your herd is as fertile as possible.
Shorter Calving Season
So the first thing I want to discuss is fertility as it pertains to a seed stock provider like myself. We respect the Mush Rushes and Bruce and Tina with Millcreek Red Angus of Montana; those two breeders had a significant influence on us as they have a shorter calving window. We learned that when you have a shorter calving window, you can find out which females are the most fertile.
That’s important for a seed stock breeder because when you have a shorter calving window, you are getting rid of the females that are not as fertile and ensuring that the females in your herd are the most functional. This means you are providing your customers with the most fertile females.
When preg checking cows, we ensure our females are bred and we are not running those females open all winter long. This is why we have a shorter calving window, which is why we preg check as seed stock providers.
Commercial Cattlemen and Preg Checking Cows
There are many benefits for preg checking cows as a commercial cattleman. For example, if someone has one hundred fifty cows when cutting down to the shorter calving window, cattlemen get the same benefit as having an extremely fertile herd. Also, cattlemen are saving themselves money by not running an open cow.
Young Red Angus rents the ground from Young and Son, who plant cover crops, and we pay per head of cattle, which is one dollar per head, per day to run our cows. So if we had one hundred fifty cows and ten percent of them are open, that is fifteen head. If we did not preg check those fifteen cows and nine months later find out they never calved, we wasted about four thousand dollars to feed them. However, when preg checking cows, the cost is around seven dollars. Our cost with mileage is right around seven dollars per head but let’s round up to ten dollars per head. When preg checking cows this costs fifteen hundred dollars to check everything, which not only saves thousands of dollars but also protects hay, grass, and corn stalks.
There are a few options for commercial cattlemen who do not want to run unfertile cattle all winter long. For example, cattlemen can take the cows to a sale barn or increase their value and put the cow back with a bull. If you can breed ten of those fifteen cows, then list them for auction on Big Iron. These are ways to increase your revenue off of your herd while increasing fertility by preg-checking cows.
For more information make sure to watch the Red Angus YouTube video on preg-checking cows and the benefits.
