Question for AA breeders

KatyMac

I've lots of half-bred angus cows (FR x AA) and now their daughters are coming into herd, so their're three-quarter AA.
My question is this year my heifer weanlings are calling very young. Had one that started in mid summer and was a pest until she was old enough to bull to calve at 24+ months - she took to the country every 3 weeks.
This morning another has started and she is hardly 10 months old, way too young to put into calf. She will drive me daft until she is old enough (another 5/6 months!).
And I have one that met up with neighbour's bull and is now carrying to him, she will be the bare 24 months.
Is this normal for three-quarter breeds? this is the first year that I have this, it is also the first year the young cattle have been more 'black' than any other breed. Thank God the neighbour has his bull in shed now!

tanko

Used to be lots of AAX cows here, fertility was never a problem with them. I often thought if there was a straw stuck up their nose they'd go in calf. Trying to stop them from getting too fat was their biggest problem.
Traditional breeds mature earlier than continental breeds anyway.

farawaygrass

We keep all Aa sucklers here, never really noticed them bulling like you describe, although we keep our own replacements and calf them at 24 months.
But I reared a few suck calf this year on cows, one was a nice whitehead heifer. Was a strong calf from word go. She started bulling around 8 months, used to separate herself from the test and walk the field roaring. Happened every 3 weeks.maybe it was down to the good year too

blue5000

Had one last year that went in calf at 6 months, little tramp:o I don't think she'll ever be a huge cow.

tanko

blue5000 wrote: »

Had one last year that went in calf at 6 months, little tramp:o I don't think she'll ever be a huge cow.

Cesarean?

TUBBY

tanko wrote: »

Cesarean?

No an Angus

blue5000

tanko wrote: »

Cesarean?

Nope, calved herself, let's just say there is a lot of angus genes in the calf.

severeoversteer

for the sake of it

if you had 100acres with suckler cows fattening allstock as beef to factory

how many angus would the 100acres take as opposed to charolais or simm cows

would you be able carry 10 or 15 percent more cows?

KatyMac

tanko wrote: »

Used to be lots of AAX cows here, fertility was never a problem with them. I often thought if there was a straw stuck up their nose they'd go in calf. Trying to stop them from getting too fat was their biggest problem.
Traditional breeds mature earlier than continental breeds anyway.

I just thought this was a bit ridiculous, trying to stop a beast going in calf, while other men are having trouble getting their cattle in calf. Would the Department be down on me like a ton of bricks if I had a lot of young heifers calving much before 2 year old? It's going to be a pain in the bum with this new one today standing lonesome on the top of a hill calling and this probably won't be the end of it, there are a few more 9/10 month olds that are probably going to start with my luck.

Farmer Pudsey

severeoversteer wrote: »

for the sake of it

if you had 100acres with suckler cows fattening allstock as beef to factory

how many angus would the 100acres take as opposed to charolais or simm cows

would you be able carry 10 or 15 percent more cows?

A lot would depend on at what age you slaughtered the progeny. One issue with AA is that now too many of the dairy crosses are too small ( too many usinf easy calving bulls. So it might be hard to get cows that have frames big enough to produce decent sized calves. Too may do not understand that a cow is 50% of the calf.

If I was going for any I think it would be HE or LM cross cows. Crossing these to a good AA bull will produce a viable calf that may be slaughtered off grass at end of second summer. Running a real tight system with paddocks and running cattle in three or four groups 55 cows would be good going I say.

greysides

KatyMac wrote: »

It's going to be a pain in the bum with this new one today standing lonesome on the top of a hill calling and this probably won't be the end of it, there are a few more 9/10 month olds that are probably going to start with my luck.

I blame too much television!

Kovu

I know the feeling Katy! Have a heifer of my own outside the shed and she's in heat today.
She's goose-stepping around the place with a head on her like a giraffe, bawling for any bull around to date her

PatQfarmer

Kovu wrote: »

I know the feeling Katy! Have a heifer of my own outside the shed and she's in heat today.
She's goose-stepping around the place with a head on her like a giraffe, bawling for any bull around to date her

We normally rear and finish AA hfrs. I find they bull much earlier than my fathers Ch/Sim. We have had a few that go mad when in heat. One crossed 4 electric fence wires, a barbed wire bounds fence, natural hedge and deep drain/stream to get to neighbours bulls! To compound it, she came in heat every 17 days, so we had to lock her up 2 days before. She got fattened quickly;)
I'd say the traditional breeds are like terriers versus larger dogs. Easier to breed from and more self-sufficient when they do.
BTW, I'm rearing all bullocks this year...and a few Fr and HEX as well!

smokey-fitz

When I took over the place earlier this year, I had 4 HE heifers that calved down at 18months. obviously I didnt expect them to be even in calf. One had a fr calf and the other 3 were red whiteheads so I dont really no what got at them. But the all calved on they're own, except one that just needed a bit of help. That was 7 months ago, and 3 of them are grand young cows with a nice calf considering. One wouldnt be great but her calf is ok. All back in calf now too. So it will be interesting how they go next year.

Charliebull

Kovu wrote: »

I know the feeling Katy! Have a heifer of my own outside the shed and she's in heat today.
She's goose-stepping around the place with a head on her like a giraffe, bawling for any bull around to date her

she would fit right in , in copper face jacks then

KatyMac

greysides wrote: »

I blame too much television!

I that for me or for the heifers????

KatyMac

Kovu wrote: »

I know the feeling Katy! Have a heifer of my own outside the shed and she's in heat today.
She's goose-stepping around the place with a head on her like a giraffe, bawling for any bull around to date her

Have 2 neighbours with bulls, one on each side and I'm just glad they are now safely tucked up in sheds. (the bulls, not the neighbours)
AA are great cattle for outwintering, but I would like them to stay in my fields not romancing around the country.
Ah well, 'tis well for me if this is my only problem this year.

PatQfarmer

2 of the 17mth AAX hfrs in the shed beating the sugar out of each other, both bulling mad!
Hope they don't end up with pneumonia, the sweat they are in. Should pass off tomorrow, hopefully.
Looking forward to just bullocks next year. Women:rolleyes:

Mad4simmental

We had one heifer this year that wouldn't go in calf.

Came round every 3 weeks but would be bulling for a week. The bull was well fecked by the end of the week and didn't even bother to puck her away from the bounds fence where the nabourghs bull would watch on as in to say feck her you have her.

Needles to say she was hanging long ago.

KatyMac

Mad4simmental wrote: »

We had one heifer this year that wouldn't go in calf.

Came round every 3 weeks but would be bulling for a week. The bull was well fecked by the end of the week and didn't even bother to puck her away from the bounds fence where the nabourghs bull would watch on as in to say feck her you have her.

Needles to say she was hanging long ago.

Was she a SIM? I had two lovely heifers, from the same cow (different years!). they were SIM/LM and had great plans to keep them. Couldn't get either of them in calf. Wasted a lot of time getting them AI'ed and eventually gave up and brought them to factory. And neither of them bothered jumping the fence for romance.