Are Your 2-Year Olds Getting Pregnant?

Two year old cows, also referred to as first calf heifers, are a unique group on a dairy farm requiring special attention to achieve optimal performance. These young cows have a longer lactation persistency and are still growing during their first lactation thus require about 25% more dietary energy than mature cows.

AI sired two year olds will produce between fifteen to 20 percent less than mature cows during their first lactation. They have less metabolic problems thus a higher survival rate than older cows. If they receive optimal care, pre and post calving and have their own separate string for at least the first 100 days of lactation, they should have the highest fertility of all lactation groups. The performance of the first lactation group is a good indicator of a herd’s overall reproductive health.

During my dairy farm visits I always look at conception and pregnancy rates by lactation group. On most dairies the two year olds will lead all other lactation groups for these key performance indicators. In some herds I have observed the conception rate of the two year olds lagging behind second and later lactation cows usually accompanied by poor body condition in the young cows.
Often the cause is due to an energy shortage in the ration and social competition from older cows when the two year olds do not have their own milking string.

Other questions to consider:

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