30 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN February 2025 Maximize Your Cow It is disappointing when pregnancy checking cows to have females diagnosed as not pregnant (open). It is more disappointing if the nonpregnant females are ones that should be pregnant with their second calf. These are expensive females as they have one calf and themselves to cover all their expenses, and it is not enough. Income for the cow-calf enterprise is generated from weaned calves and non-calf revenue (cull cows and bulls), with 80 percent generated from weaned calves and 20 percent from non-calf revenue. Pregnant females are a must and opens are a drag on the system. The challenge is how to limit the number of open females economically. Three management areas will be discussed in this article as it pertains to open cows: 1. Working with your veterinarian on a herd health program tailored for your operation. 2. Managing bulls to be ready before the start of the breeding season. 3. Managing the nutrition program to optimize reproductive performance. VCPRs Veterinarian-client-patient relationships (VCPRs) are important. Ask your veterinarian to customize the herd health program for replacement heifers, cows, bulls and calves that will address diseases and overall herd health. Discuss management strategies that optimize reproductive performance and when those management practice should be performed – specifically, pre-calving vaccinations, pre-breeding vaccinations, vaccinations for calves before spring turnout, weaning vaccination, replacement heifer vaccination, vaccination for bulls, pregnancy checking, breeding soundness examinations Working with your veterinarian on a herd health program Managing bulls to be ready before the start of the breeding Managing the nutrition program to optimize reproductive (BSE) and how to best handle difficult births. Work with your veterinarian on a biosecurity plan and what is needed to ensure a safe beef supply. The biosecurity plan needs to include preventing reproductive diseases from entering your operation. Make sure your herd health program and approach don’t negatively impact herd reproductive performance. Managing Bulls In most operations, there are young bulls and mature bulls. Young bulls are ones that are entering their first breeding season. Make sure they get to your location in plenty of time to acclimate. Get bulls’ socialization done well before the breeding season. Make sure there is plenty of space to minimize bulls getting injured. Newly purchased bulls will have already gone through a breeding soundness exam (BSE). It is good to have BSEs done on bulls annually. If you don’t, observe the bull battery well before the start of the breeding season and check them for physical problems. One of the most common problems is frost bite to the scrotum; those bulls will need to have a BSE. Manage bulls to be in their “working clothes” and in a body condition score (BCS) of 6 at least a month before the start of the breeding season. Bulls will lose condition and weight during the breeding season. After breeding season, evaluate each bull for feet, leg, penis, scrotum and eye problems. Put bulls in a pasture where they have plenty of space. Bulls will gain some weight and maybe some condition grazing pasture after the breeding season. For breeding seasons that begin in May, consider starting to get bulls back in their “working clothes” starting in January. This can be done slowly without adding a lot of energy to the diet, and it can be accomplished on pasture with dormant range, corn residue or good-quality hay fed in a pasture. If there are PRODUCTION RICK RASBY, PH.D., PROFESSOR AND COW-CALF
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