November Beef Management Calendar

Livestock Update, November 2005

John B. Hall, Extension Animal Scientist, Beef, Virginia Tech

Spring Calving Herds

• Body condition score cows and separate thin cows
• Market calves at graded sales, telo-auction or as off-farm truckloads
• Background calves for sale in December
• Feed replacement heifers to gain 1.5 - 1.75 lbs per day or use the Target Weight method to calculate rate of gain
• Cull open, old and very thin cows; check feet and legs, udders and eyes
• Feed cull cows on stockpiled fescue until December or January to increase marketability
• Test hay for nutrient quality
• Move cows to stockpiled grass late this month or early December
• Get list of bull sales coming up early this winter
• Remember VAPAH heifer sales on Nov. 5, 9 and 26, and December 2.

Fall Calving Herds

• Finish calving
• Check cows 2 to 4 times per day, heifers more often - assist early if needed
• Keep calving area clean and move healthy pairs out to large pastures 3 days after calving
• Ear tag and dehorn all calves at birth; castrate male calves in commercial herds
• Give selenium and vitamin A & D injections to newborn calves
• Feed cows extra energy after calving; stockpiled fescue will take care of needs. Cows calving at BCS < 5 should receive special nutritional attention.
• Test hay for nutrient quality
• Look for opportunities to secure low-cost feed supplies of bulk feeds or commodity feeds
• Keep high quality, high magnesium, high selenium minerals available
• Move cows to stockpiled grass late this month or early December
• Begin breeding replacement heifers late this month; try AI on heifers
• Get breeding soundness exams done on all bulls
• Last minute to buy bulls at November-December bull sales

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