Culling your beef herd is not an easy task. Every producer is guilty of “let’s give her one more year,” especially in years when forage and hay is abundant.
Pregnancy rate is a very important factor to consider when making culling decisions and animals with low performance rates or found open should move to the top of the culling list. Pregnancy rate is the most know factor that is considered, but there are, however, some other factors that should be considered as well. They are: aging, udder scoring, body condition scoring, disposition, eyes and structure.
Aging your cattle can allow better record keeping for your herd as well as influence your decision to cull. As a cow ages you should look at her teeth to see the wear on the teeth and how many she has left. Cattle need teeth to graze and eat efficiently. Also, younger cows in the herd should be genetically superior to the older cows. Cattle with broken mouths, badly worn teeth, are young, but not superior, should be culled.
Udder condition of cows is not only linked to milk production, which affects calf performance, but the udders physical structure can impede the calf’s access to milk which can lead to decreased growth despite adequate milk and can cause you more labor at calving time.
Body Condition Scoring is a useful management tool for distinguishing differences in nutritional needs for the cows in the herd. BCS range from 1 to 9, with a score of 1 being extremely thin and 9 being very obese. Cows should have a BCS of 5 to 7 at calving and a 5 to 6 at breeding. Cattle that are not at these optimal ranges are using more resources than the 5 to 7 cattle and therefore costing more money which eats into the profitability of the operation.
Another important trait to consider when culling is disposition. It might have been fun to run and jump over/under fences when we were younger but as we begin to slow down this is not the case. One cow with a bad attitude can ruin the dynamic of the entire herd and cause many safety issues. This trait can also be passed on to their offspring and disposition problems can cause a decrease in reproduction rates as well as other performance characteristics, all of which decreases profitability and safety.
Monitoring the eyes of beef cattle on a routine basis is important. Repeated examinations allow the producer to become familiar with the normal appearance of the eye which makes spotting problems much easier. Lacking good eye sight can lead to production decreases as well as safety concerns.
Last but not least in importance is the structure of the cattle. The two most common types of lameness are arthritic joints and foot and hoof problems. Excess hoof growth can lead to curling toes and eventual misalignment of the feet and leg bones.
It is key to have a well-rounded approach to culling cattle, not just if she has a live calf each season. Safety, productivity and profitability can all be affected by using this approach in culling decisions. If you “give her one more year” she may not make it on and off the trailer, and you have just lost the sale of that slaughter cow.
