Helping your first calving heifers get back into calf during the upcoming mating round can be a difficult task. They are still growing themselves, are recovering from pregnancy and calving, and have a calf at-foot, calling on their reserves.
If your heifers were properly managed to this point and had a successful first-calving, then things should be easier. But, it is still important to carefully manage this critical ‘post-partum interval’ to ensure they cycle early.
Nutrition is key to help boost lactation and growth, but can be challenging at this time of year. Priority-feeding your R2 heifers right up to mating is important to ensure they get the required nutrition for cycling. It is also recommended to leave enough time between calving and mating for the heifer to rest (around 42 days).
Synchronisation programmes
We can help to synchronise your heifers’ cycling to within a 10-14 day window with a repro programme, such as CIDR or PG (read more here).
It is also a good idea to check that your heifers have good levels of selenium and copper pre-mating. Copper injections cannot be given closer than 4 weeks to mating, so it is worthwhile testing copper levels around 1.5 months before your planned mating date.
Contact your KeyVet to arrange mineral testing or injections.
