Flushing a heifer (If you could answer the other 2 Please)

[jackpotcattle]

Many of you will NEVER flush a virgin hfr and she has to produce something.....so my question is you NEVER use a virgin bull? The cattle business, at most times is a risk and a person has to take advantage of marketing oppurtunities when they can. Yes, there are probably too many females being flushed, but there are just as many bulls being collected and nobody has a problem with that.

 

[kfacres]

I don't have a problem with either senerio...  I don't own the cow, don't own the bulls- and don't plan on buying any semen or embroys out of either!

In terms of using a virgin bull= yes...  But he won't get bred to many more than a couple that first year around here...  Might collect him in case something were to happen- that would cost me no more than $2. a straw...  I can get hundreds of straws if so desired...  If he doesn't work out, and I have 30 straws on him, I can toss them and be out 60 bucks...  Not bad for an insurance policy- I bet country companies or state farm couldn't do that!

Now in the case of flushing a v. heifer- you put around $1200 in her- with the possiblity of gettting 1-12 embroys for say.  According to my math- that's at best 100 bucks each..  Now in the case of a heifer, if something were to happen to her, you aren't going to know if she is going to work- so you piddle around planing them embroys in= and basically wasting your time, money, cows, and a year of calving from a recip that could have been carrying a good embroy from an older cow! 


Your logic makes no sense!


ps.. there are people who wouldn't use an unproven bull!

 

[WWS]

Well I guess i will give my take on this subject.  Determining how a v. heifer is gonna respond to flushing is as easy as figuring out how many eggs a donor cow is gonna produce in her lifetime.  I have known of quite a few heifers that have been flushed some had good success in the 5-10 egg range and then still produced embryos in the future in the tune of 10-15 egg flushing ave. but I also know of heifers that were flushed and some didnt breed back for a year or two and know of one heifer that did a ton of winning and then now wont respond to drugs that are used in the flushing process.  So i guess what i am getting at is i think the risk is far greater than the reward when doing it as a v. heifer but we have a heifer due to calve in the next couple of weeks that will be flushed multiple times before she is bred back for her 2nd calf.  I dont see why you would want to wait till their third calf to put in the donor pen cause if you have alot of money sitting out there on it and the heifer itself or pedigree is hot dont pass up the marketing opportunity.  If they have the phenotype and the genetics of a proven pedigree im not gonna hesitate one minute to flush her.  And i wont hesitate to use semen on an unproven bull on cows in my herd but it sure as heck is not gonna be very many straws.