Rearing dairy heifers from birth to first calving can be costly, but they are the future of the herd and it is important to get your timing right. The aim is to inseminate heifers at 14- 15 months of age to be calving down at 24 months.
In cattle, puberty is dependent on weight, not age - with puberty beginning when a heifer reaches 40% of its mature body weight. Heifers which have shown heat at least twice before insemination for the first time at 15 months have the best fertility and the best chance of getting pregnant.
Heifer fertility is inherently better than that of lactating cows but poor management can still result in poor fertility in heifers. So it is important that the calf is managed well pre-weaning to give it the best start to life, growing well and developing organs which mostly happens in the first 50 days of life, and also giving a long-lasting effect on their future health and productivity.
Several studies have shown that incidences of disease in early life can delay the age at which calves are ready to breed, which leads to later calving, added rearing costs, reduced fertility and reduced longevity.
Getting heifers grown and developed ready for first insemination depends on two key factors- nutrition and health the first 12 months of her life, so it is important to get this right from day one in order to produce a healthy heifer that grows well to get her pregnant and into the herd to start producing for the future.
