Market Heifer and Heat Cycles

[mainecattlemother]

We have a bid on an animal that we believe we will win.  We think it could make an awesome market heifer but we are a little afraid of heat cycles and things going sour.  Does anyone have suggestions on this.  Can heat cycles be stopped.  We had an animal we purchased a few couple years ago.  My daughter bought the animal as breeding but we told her many times that it was market.  She actually showed at one jackppot show against some $10000 plus steers and one the light weight class.  We had no problems with heat cycles.  Just looking for some info on how to control this as everyone told us its very hard to raise a good competitive market heifer.  Any comments appreciated.

 

[Till-Hill]

Ask your vet to spay her.......MGA in the feed will stop her or a cidr put in few days before a show always does the trick

 

[Mueller Show Cattle]

If she is going to be sold as a market heifer, than you can have her spay, but that would be more expensive than using a CIDR. They (CIDR) work great and are easy, put one in about 5 days before a show and pull the CIDR out the night before the show is what I would suggest. All the CIDR does is start over their estrus cycle and will not hurt them if she is not sold ad a market heifer and is used to breed down the road. The CIDR is inexpensive, easy and will do the trick.

 

[ROMAX]

Just breed her, that'll control heat cycles,and if u don't sell her she will have a calf for you.

 

[simmyman67]

I agree, just breed her.

 

[mainecattlemother]

Thanks for the responses.  I did learn some things and actually this evening when we were going to pick up another animal that we purchased from someone that had a Reserve Market Heifer at MN State Fair who we trust said their Market Heifer was breed and this is okay so we will just breed her.  We feel she will be very very competitive and could win this show.  We dont know if we won the bidding yet though.  We are top bid right now and there has been no bids since 11 am today but he said he is waiting for some roll offs to this heifer as he really wants more than our bid.  What is everyones experience on private treaty sales.  Should he be giving bidders that many hours to roll over?

 

[Junior88]

I would think that if you are buying and planning on showing her as a MARKET heifer, it is and can compete against a MARKET steer.  I would think you should read your rules regarding showing a MARKET animal, it is basically, raised to be sold for slaughter.  If you think she is that good, use her as a breeding animal and compete as a breeding animal.  By breeding a Market Heifer, aren't you getting an unjust advantage of filling out areas that normally not filled out on an open heifer.    This happened at Lorain county fair in Ohio this past August. I would think its cheating.

 

[twistedhshowstock]

It all depends, a lot of the Market Heifer shows are not terminal, so a lot of people show those heifers that they intend to make steer mamas but just are a little to terminal looking to compete in the breeding show.  If the intention is to sell her terminally then I would look into maybe having her spayed.  Breeding her is not going to help get finish and cover on her, if anything it will hinder that.  Also be sure to check your rules, if your friends had reserve market heifer with a bred heifer then you should be ok, but a lot of market heifer shows have rules that the heifer must be open when they show and at the bigger ones they will often times palpate them.

 

[iowabeef]

In Iowa, Market heifers can be bred and I believe most of them are......

 

[Till-Hill]

Shouldn't the market heifers have to be "market" animals tho? I agree Junior88 if you breed a market heifer show her as a breeding project! JMO tho. I have a freemartin heifer I could show in the breeding class which she would have done a little better in but I did not as I felt that was wrong.......

 

[vc]

How many market heifers turn into cows? I would guess anywhere from 10 to 25 percent, maybe more. How far along would a market heifer be 1 to 4 months, not really giving you an advantage. We have a friend whose market heifer won our county fair and had they entered her, she probably could have gone to state as a breeding heifer and won, she was flat out that good. (they wanted to win county with a market heifer to prove it could be done). I think as long as you stay away from some of the supplements and implants there is no reason that a market heifer can not go on to be a cow or a doner. I would not buy a market heifer for a cow unless I knew who raised her and what they gave her.

I bet some market heifers turn into better cows that some of the heifers shown for breeding. I know we have kept some gilts that we showed for market and turned them into sows.

 

[CAB]

Some of the larger shows are starting to peg. ck. heifers and are saying that they have to be open, not very many yet. You do need to get the rule books for the shows that you intend on showing her in and be sure of their qualifications.
  On some of these better "market heifers" PPL are AIing them on each cycle and flushing the embryos one @ a time. That way they can justify spending a little more money on the heifer and having some calves out of her also. All of that costs money with NO guarantees.

 

[iowabeef]

I believe Denver preg checks.....

 

[Junior88]

In Ohio, many 4h county shows are terminal, especially if you win grand or reserve, as well as on the state level.  Ohio hasn't gone up to speed with preg testing Market Heifers, only checking for drugs and anything else that can enhance the animal.  So, if you have a winning market heifer, and it faces off with a market steer and wins, it will be slaughtered in many county fairs in Ohio.  So, again, why would you breed a market heifer?  I can see the flushing and using a donor cow, that may be the way to go, but to show her as a market heifer, bred, with the possibility of it going to slaughter is not right.

 

[OH Breeder]

Posted by: twistedhshowstock 
"It all depends, a lot of the Market Heifer shows are not terminal, so a lot of people show those heifers that they intend to make steer mamas but just are a little to terminal looking to compete in the breeding show.  If the intention is to sell her terminally then I would look into maybe having her spayed.  Breeding her is not going to help get finish and cover on her, if anything it will hinder that.  Also be sure to check your rules, if your friends had reserve market heifer with a bred heifer then you should be ok, but a lot of market heifer shows have rules that the heifer must be open when they show and at the bigger ones they will often times palpate them. "




This is for my own knowledge bank. Someone mentioned above that pregnancy can hinder weight gain in a market heifer. Can someone explain that to me? We have never had an issue with weight gain on any of our heifers pregnant or not. In fact our females have out performed the steers on weight gain and finish the past couple of years. One of our breed heifers everyone thought was a market heifer and she is very pregnant. I thought about turning her out before show because she was so fat. Seriously not being a smart ass explain that thought process to me.

 

[Top Knot]

I agree. A 3 month fetus doesn't demand a lot nutritionally. I see a lot of breeding heifers that I would deem too fat.

 

[ROMAX]

Putting some $20.00 semen in,from a calving ease bull,is alot cheaper than spaying her or putting supplements in her feed.

 

[Till-Hill]

spaying costs $40 if done around that 400 pound range. A cidr cost $10 and could be used for a couple shows......mga only costs pennies a day.....

 

[iowabeef]

But if you have any plans to keep her at all at the end of the season, a calf next spring will get you more....

 

[firesweepranch]

Shouldn't the market heifers have to be "market" animals tho? I agree Junior88 if you breed a market heifer show her as a breeding project! JMO tho. I have a freemartin heifer I could show in the breeding class which she would have done a little better in but I did not as I felt that was wrong.......

Are you sure she was a free martin? The red simmy half blood that the Wallace's won the Junior Nationals with, and won the junior show at our district fair (a payout of $2500) was a twin to a bull, but ended up being fertile and bred!
Just asking  ;D