Kody Hanner
Breeding Timing
If you are breeding livestock, there are several reasons that you may want to choose to breed in the fall. Breeding time falls under many categories, so breeding in the fall may or may not be right for you. But if you’re just getting started or feel overwhelmed with litters of piglets or calves being born in the middle of a snowstorm this should have you lined out in no time.
I grew up ranching in a fairly mild climate where we would calve in early spring and late fall and never had to worry about weather affecting the calves. Now as a homesteader, I live in a much harsher climate (especially in the winter) and that along with marketing, ethical breeding, and convenience (to name a few) affects when we choose to breed our livestock.
Breeding for Marketing
Marketing is probably the biggest factor. Money talks and let’s face it, that’s often why we are farming. As pig farmers we need to meet 3 different markets that all require late summer or fall breeding and unfortunately, winter farrowing.
Our markets include fair piglets for 4-H and FFA kids who all need their pigs born approximately December though March depending on their fair dates. Market standard for these pigs is to weigh usually between 220 and 300 lbs at their fair or they cannot sell at auction. So that requires me, as a breeder, to make sure I am selling fast growing pigs that will be the required weight at 6-9 months old.
The next market we meet is spring feeders. These sows will get bred in late fall or early winter so that when they farrow, they are not taking up pens that my show piglets need. These are piglets that local families buy to feed for the summer and butcher in the fall to fill their freezers. Many choose to do this because it is cheaper than buying the pork retail and the pigs grow very fast generally because they are not using their energy to stay warm. We also supply fall piglets because some people like to raise the piglets over the winter because they produce a leaner meat. This particular breeding is usually scheduled in the spring after my fair piglet sows bounce back from weaning.
My third market currently is whole hogs and retail cuts. I do breed these in the fall as well, but I aim for three rotating breedings of these pigs throughout the year to always have fresh product and appropriate timing to work with our butcher.
Convivence and Ethics of Breeding Timing
This actually has a few different considerations that aligns with ethical animal practices too. The main things I consider are:
- Availability of semen, this could be either due to being able to rent a bull or ordering boar semen from a specific supplier.
- The animal giving birth in good weather. Too cold or too hot weather can potentially open you up to loosing babies to exposure. Also, if it is muddy where the animal may be giving birth there is a higher risk of infection for both mom and baby.
- Having animals already at the barn or chute area for fall health checks
- And your choice could simply be due to your family vacation, holidays or prior commitments such as kids showing at your local fair.
We practice convenience breeding often especially with our dairy cows. We currently do not have a market for our milk or our calves. We consume all the milk, and our calves are with replacement heifers or beef steers. Therefore, we choose to breed in the fall so that we have summer calves. Our summers here are usually fairly mild, but the rest of the year is usually pretty harsh. Another positive to summer calves is that the bulk of our milk comes at the end of harvest when I have time for butter and cheese making.
This year we invested in two angus heifers and with that we will be following a marketing schedule when we breed and calve. This will also be to be able to sell our calves for show steers and homestead beef.
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