Heifers

Yesterday I had the rewarding experience of assisting with the replacement heifer selection.  We selected 15 feminine yearling heifers.  We also dropped two of our bulls in with them.  They will calve in the fall.  George likes to give his heifers a chance to grow a bit more (4-6 months) before breeding them.  They are more mature and will calve more easily and breed back better has three year olds.  Breeding heifers just as they turn one can be very rough on them since they are still growing into themselves.  The economics of keeping a heifer around for an extra year without them producing a calf is typically not as feasible to cash flow as getting a calf out of them as two year olds.  Drought is most certainly not the time to feed an animal who won't help pay for herself until a year or two later.

 The bulls heading out into the sunset

   Heifers waiting to head home.