Management of First-Calf Heifers

first-calf heifers presents one of the greatest challenges to cow-calf producers. The physical and nutritional stresses associated with parturition, lactation and continuing her own growth, create a real challenge for the two-yearold cow. Calving difficulties, weak calves, calf death loss and scours are all potential pitfalls that can be avoided or reduced with proper management and nutrition. But, perhaps the biggest stumbling block with first-calf heifers is getting them rebred in a timely fashion. Data from South Dakota herds enrolled in the Cow Herd Appraisal Performance Software (CHAPS) program shows a tendency for heifers to calve on time as twoyear-olds, calve late as three-year-olds and then be open in the fall when they wean their second calf. Five years of culling data from the North Dakota CHAPS program supports this tendency as the highest percentage of cows culled for reproductive failure were three-year-olds. The twoand three-year-old cows accounted for nearly one third of all the open cows culled. Therefore, not only getting first-calf heifers rebred, but also getting them bred early in the season are of great importance to the long term success of the breeding program.