Breeding Season

Another week has come and gone again. Sorry about no blog last week. There is no excuse other than I was being very lazy.

Because of the gorgeous weather at the beginning of the week, we got some cattle work done. Still a long ways left to go, but getting there very slowly. We have all of the Herefords worked, but only 1/3 of the fall calves done. The fall calves were born starting in mid-September, They are mostly done calving by now. The ones that haven't calves are being pulled off to go to another pasture. A cow's gestation cycle is 283 days. That means we're turning the bulls in with the cattle so they get bred and will calf on time next year.

Bulls over 24 months of age are consider mature bulls. They can breed (depending on the operation, circumstances and body condition) on the upward of 30-35 cows. A lot depends on the factors surrounding the cattle. Bulls can start breeding around 12 months of age. This is on the young side, but if in perfect body condition and with a few cows and careful observations they can begin breeding. A general rule of thumb is that "yearlings" (12-18 months) bulls can breed the same number of cattle as the number of months they are. For example a 16 month old bull can breed 16 cows. A 20 month old bull can breed 20 cows. Once they reach maturity (normally around 2 years old) bulls can breed, comfortably probably around 30-40 cows. New research is showing that given good circumstances, bulls can breed up to 50 cows. Most cattle producers are leery of putting one bull in with that many because of the possible implications if the bull doesn't get his job done.

Conditions are a big part of bulls getting their job done. If there is more than one bull in the pasture, a pecking order will have to be established. There will be a dominant bull if there are multiple bulls in the pasture. That one bull will try to breed as many cows as he can and not let the others breed even if he isn't. Body score of the bull has a big part to do with how effectively he breeds. Most bulls go through a breeding soundness exam before being turned out. It's imperative that bulls are in top physical shape so they can get their very important job completed.

That's a little bit about what's been going on on the farm lately. So after the soapbox of a blog about not doing Christmas before Thanksgiving. I hung the few Christmas lights I hang the weekend after Thanksgiving. We haven't got our tree, but getting there. I'm officially getting in the Christmas season.

An update on Matt's grandpa, for those that know him. He's in therapy and will hopefully be coming home next weekend. He's gaining strength and seems to be in good spirits.

Matt has been sick this week. With his Mom's prodding we went to the doctor this week and he was diagnosed with strep throat/bronchitis. He's been taking pills and is almost healed. A good night's sleep tonight and he should be fixed. I'm hoping I don't get it, but if I do he better take as good of care of me as I took of him.

It's the little things in life that mean the most. Today my mom spent a lot of the day with us. She helped me do some cleaning. Matt even helped a little! I got a lot marked off my to do list and hoping to get some more thorough cleaning done this week and then get our tree up! I enjoyed getting to spend some time with her not having to work cattle.

This holiday season I encourage everyone to spend time with your loved ones. Be thankful for the friends and family in your life. Not everyone has as much as we do. We're so blessed. Have a great Christmas and don't get too wrapped up in the gifting to remember what the season is about.

Have a great week!