Our commercial herd and most of our purebreds calve on grass in May/June. The cows do a good job of it. Our live calf percentage is consistently over 97%.  The calves are processed (vaccinated, branded, castrated) at 3-6 weeks of age. Then we sort into breeding fields and pairs are grazed until as late as possible. Breeding season length is generally 60 days. But 80-90% of our cows calve in the first 30 days.

 

We credit this largely to our bull to cow ratio. We run about 1 bull:20 cows. 1:15 for yearlings. In the fall, calves are given their booster shots while still on the cow. At that time, cows are pregtested and vaccinated with an 8 way and blackleg.

 

We generally wean in December or January. Our weaning percentage averages between 97-100%. Some calves are sold. Some are backgrounded and grassed or kept as replacements. We have a nice break from Feb-Mar so we can curl. Then spring happens and we start all over again.