  BeefTalk:
Get the Most Bang for your Buck: Cull Those Heifers Now
By Kris Ringwall, Extension Beef Specialist,
NDSU Extension Service
The days of summer are fast approaching the history book and, for most beef
producers, so is the breeding season. At the North Dakota State University
Dickinson Research Extension Center, pregnancy checking is completed for the
summer with only the fall recheck left to be done after all the calves are
weaned.
At the center, young cows are the most important. We maintained 137 heifers
to breed this spring. The status report: 26 are open, seven are too wild to keep
as mother cows, one jumped the gate and will need to be relocated, and one has
aborted.
That leaves us with 102 heifers suitable to remain in the herd or be marketed
as bred heifers. The number the center will keep depends on the evaluation of
all the pregnancy data and calf performance.
The two things not tolerated at the center are heifers that can’t conceive
after being exposed to the bull for three cycles and ill-tempered heifers. One
might argue that three cycles is too long. I might even agree. But all the
heifers at the center are given the opportunity to conceive to a synchronized AI
mating and exposed to the bull for two cycles.
In the case of wild heifers, I have no patience and neither does my health
insurance company. The vast majority of heifers like and respect their owners
and caregivers. (In fact, a couple of handfuls of cake from your pickup and you
can count on those heifers to spit shine your vehicle.) But the wild heifers are
a different story: ears perked, eyes glaring, tail up and bags packed to go
anywhere but where you want her to go.
For those of you who palpate heifers, wild heifers have noticeably increased
body temperatures. You can feel every heartbeat and, in some cases, a slight
twitching during her examination. I recall one heifer a few years ago that
outdistanced the horse and riders for several miles, took down six fences and
finally ended up in the neighbor’s corral, only to frantically jump into the
stock trailer. A well-timed slamming of the door captured her just prior to her
spin to exit.
Confined to the trailer, she rode to the ranch, only to depart quickly over
several wood fences upon release. Eventually, she was returned and released at
the stockyards. They have the kind of fence that is needed in these situations.
This year, heifers K0320, K0339, K0340, K0343 and K0348 have all left for the
sale barn due to their desire to return to the wild state. The gate jumper
mentioned earlier is yet to be restrained and two additional heifers joined the
gate jumper to account for the eight wild heifers.
Interestingly, one of these was subsequently rounded up and returned to the
ranch headquarters. Upon arrival at the ranch, this heifer managed to climb into
the storage compartment in front of the stock trailer, where she remained until
successfully extricated by the crew. There is always excitement in the cattle
business.
The open and wild heifers, especially at a time like this, will fetch solid
values and will help producers clean up their herds. The net result is that
patience can then be saved for something more important. For us, docile
livestock are very important. Once selected for our herd, the heifers are
similar to kids at the candy jar, or should I say cows at the cake bucket.
There is a time for everything. Put those wild heifers in the feedlot where
they belong, and hope like heck that the wild heifers aren’t in heat when
their number is up, but dark cutters are another story.
May you find all your ear tags.
Your comments are always welcome at www.BeefTalk.com
For more information, contact the North Dakota Beef Cattle Improvement
Association, 1133 State Avenue, Dickinson, ND 58601 or go to www.CHAPS2000.COM
on the Internet. In correspondence about this column, refer to BT0052.
###
Source: Kris Ringwall, (701) 483-2427, kringwal@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu
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