A young female before she has had a calf of her own and is under three years of age is called a heifer. A young female that has had only one calf is occasionally called a first-calf heifer.
Giving birth for the first time is a shocking experience for a heifer, but stress associated with the first birth also is confounded with numerous other management related issues.
The calf is born after a period of 283 days or approximately 9 months of pregnancy. One of the most important factors affecting the management of breeding, is the length of this gestation period. After calving, a cow should not be brought to
the bull before at least 50 days have elapsed to allow the uterus time to undergo involution.
After birth, the first-calf heifer is required to nurse a young calf, her reproductive tract needs to undergo repair (uterine involution) to prepare for the next pregnancy, and she is required to maintain her own condition in order to become pregnant during the subsequent breeding season. All of these factors are new to a heifer and she is required to do this at a time when she is introduced to the mature cow herd.
These young cows need additional nutrients, because even though they are cows, they are still growing themselves; therefore, not only do they need nutrients for their calves, but they need nutrients for further growth.
For first-calf heifers, calving and lactation occur at a time when they are still growing themselves. These are major stressors that, if ignored, can lead to a lowered body condition score (BCS), delayed rebreeding or a smaller calf.
First calf heifer
