Page 51 - Hereford Magazine 2021

The maternal female:

what makes a

good cow?

Photo: By Sharon Paterson – Waikaka Station.

Females play an important role in a Hereford A classic example of this is seen in the change in docility
herd; not only does she contribute 50% of her in Limousin. While breeders were culling animals with poor
genetics to her calf, but she is also required temperaments from each calving drop, it wasn’t until the
to get pregnant, give birth, wean her calf and docility EBV was introduced that breeders were able to make
get back in calf, all while maintaining her own informed decisions about which sires and dams to select;
previously poor temperament was passed on because the
condition at an acceptable level. This article environmental effects confounded the underlying genetics
examines the traits that make a good maternal of the trait – e.g. a bull who was quiet because he had been
female, and how genetics can help to improve broken in was still producing calves with poor temperament.
compliance levels within the herd for each of As genetic progress was made within the breed for docility,
these important life stages. the incidence of calves needing to be culled for poor
temperament decreased.
Article courtesy of Catriona Millen, technical officer, In a similar manner, genetics can be used to improve the
Southern Beef Technology Services percentage of females in the herd that are getting in calf,
giving birth to a live calf unassisted, weaning the calf, and
getting back in calf. Let us explore which of the BREEDPLAN
THE MATERNAL FEMALE traits are important for a maternal female throughout her life,
particularly during pregnancy, calving, while raising the calf
The job of a female - whether a maiden heifer or an older cow - to weaning, and for her own maintenance.
in the Hereford breeding herd is to:
1. Get in calf (in the first or second cycle) and carry the calf 1. PREGNANCY
to term. The first test for any female is to get in calf and carry the
2. Give birth to a live calf (without assistance). calf to term. Ideally, a female should be getting pregnant in
3. Wean the calf. the first or second cycle. This allows the Hereford breeder to
4. Get back in calf, thus repeating the cycle in the next year. have a short joining period (in a fertile herd, this shouldn’t
In addition, she should do all of this without consuming compromise pregnancy rates) and calve down over a
excessive amounts of feed, in turn improving the stocking shorter time (reducing the number of weeks the Hereford
rate for the property, and thus giving Hereford producers the breeder needs to check pregnant heifers and cows for
option to run more animals. calving difficulties). Calves born from mating in the first or
While beef producers often cull cows that do not perform second cycle also have a significant age, and thereby weight,
at each step, simply removing the individual cow does not advantage over their late-born herd mates.
remove the underlying poor genetics from within the herd, Failure of a heifer to get pregnant is often due to her not
as the parents and/or progeny are not culled. Without making being sexually mature at the time she was out with the bull.
genetic improvement within the herd to improve compliance A heifer may not be sexually mature because she is a late
levels at each step, the problems will simply repeat themselves maturing type (e.g. the tall, lanky animal), or because she was
in subsequent calving drops. born late in the season and is younger than the other heifers

Year 2021 HEREFORD MAGAZINE 49