Heifer: a young female before first calving
A heifer is a young female bovine that has not yet had a calf. Replacement heifers become the next generation of your herd. Their growth and age at breeding determine when they first calve. Keep track of birth dates, live weights, insemination dates and first calving dates as they develop.
How do you follow a heifer's growth?
For example, you weigh a spring-born heifer every month. Once she reaches your farm's target breeding weight, you inseminate her. Keep her first calving date with her earlier notes so you can follow her progress from birth.
How can HerdMobile help?
Use HerdMobile to follow your replacement heifers from birth to first calving, with weight notes and breeding dates that help you plan their next stage.
Questions from the farm
When is a heifer ready for breeding?
A heifer's readiness for breeding depends on her weight relative to her expected mature size, as well as her age. Set a target breeding weight and check her latest weighing before insemination.
Why follow heifers separately?
Replacement heifers eat feed before they earn income from milk. Following their growth and breeding dates separately helps you see whether they are developing as planned and will join the milking herd on time.
How HerdMobile helps
Bring your animals, feed stocks and farm accounts together on your Android phone. HerdMobile keeps your daily work moving offline: record events, compare feed quantities and follow sales and payments in one place. Use your own feeds and herd information to prepare a ration, then keep a backup file under your control.
Follow replacement heifers from birth to first calving, keeping weight notes and insemination dates together so you can check each animal's progress.
