How many calves do elk have

For best success, breeding bulls should be three years old or older. One bull can service 20 to 40 cows. A bull will gather a group of females and keep them away from other bulls.

Bulls compete for dominance through bugling, sparring, and chasing would-be competitors away. Injuries are rare. Bulls and cows go through a ritual before the actual "high mount" of mating. Calving All cows will "bag up" before giving birth.

The older the cow, the more "pregnant" she will appear. The cow will start to "walk the fences" prior to calving, looking for a quiet, private place to give birth. Ensure through controlled feeding that cows are not fat, as this restricts the size of the birth canal and increases the size of the calf. Although calving problems are rare, farmers can help the cow by pulling the calf, but only after waiting a lengthy period for a natural birth.

The cow will immediately accept the calf and clean it, and the calf will stand to nurse. Nutrition Elk are predominantly grazers. Elk eat most upland grasses e.

Elk will consume grains e. Elk are efficient converters of food. Three cow elks' feed intake is the same as that of one beef cow. The feeding of cows and bulls is slightly different; therefore, it is better to separate them after the rut. For a cow, post-rut to calving, feed a maintenance diet of good quality hay, grain optional. For a cow, calving to post-rut, feed grain, hay, and a high-quality feed rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals.

Bulls should be fed well all year, but especially in the summer. During winter, bulls should be fed a much higher quality diet than that of cows, so that can regenerate after the rut. If possible, weaned calves should be kept separate and fed extra the first winter.

The elk's weight at the end of October is directly proportional to its weight at the end of March. The calorie intake of an elk is twice as much in the summer as it is in the winter. Feed elk very well in the summer to achieve optimum velvet weights and calving percentages.

Farmers can put elk on self-feed if they slowly bring them up to that consumption level full ration. Remember: Feed is the most important part of managing your elk herd.

DO: Feed the best possible feed. You will get better results, and it costs less because of less waste. Elk pick through poor-quality feed to get the good. Make sure the ration is well-balanced with an adequate supply of copper and selenium.

Elk mate during the time known as the rut. The rut occurs in the fall when adult elk gather together. During the spring and summer, bull elk have grown their antlers and they are now hard bone. Mature bulls compete with each other for the right to breed the most females in what is called a harem.

Bulls younger than 5 years and those older than 11 years seldom have harems. Bulls will bugle, that is, make a high pitch whistling noise to challenge other males and to warn off any potential competition. Bugling also attracts female elk and this sound can carry for miles. Female elk's estrus cycle lasts between one to two days.

Elk calves are born between and days after mating. Elk typically live to around 12 years old in the wild. Captive elk have been known to live 25 years.

By using the site, you agree to the uses of cookies and other technology as outlined in our Policy, and to our Terms of Use. Do this on a to year cycle to provide continuous availability of this habitat type. If you have several aspen stands, treat them in rotation to make sure that early growth stages are always available. Landowners should also consider clear -cutting patches to stimulate the growth of brush species and to create permanent forest openings for grass and forb production.

If you have bull elk wintering on your property, you can enhance their survival by creating numerous half -acre grassy openings within dense timber stands. Food plots are seldom a practical way to enhance elk habitat. The large herds they may attract will quickly deplete the crop, and a lack of natural forage growing in the area could lead to winter hardship. Mowing, flailing, burning or grazing existing vegetation and then fertilizing is a more realistic way to enhance large areas. A phosphorus fertilizer will favor the forb component over the grass component of the stand.

Chaining dragging a large anchor chain between two tractors or bulldozing sagebrush or other shrubs that have become too plentiful can create openings where grass and forbs can grow.

Openings should be five to 20 acres and irregular in shape. If you plan to reseed, use a grass-forb mixture.

Clovers, alfalfa, small burnet and orchard grass are examples. Check with your local county extension agent for recommended varieties and seed sources in your area. Using herbicides can also create grassy openings in sagebrush or other dense shrub communities. Be sure to use herbicides that will not impact the forb component of the forage. Again, five to acre openings with irregular shapes are ideal. Check with your county extension agent for recommendations on herbicides, rates, timing and follow-up treatments.

Elk Management For Montana Landowners. Printable version of article by James E. Mature bulls use three strategies during winter to avoid predators like wolves and, to a lesser degree, coyotes and mountain lions: They stay away from cow herds, which attract predators.

They avoid areas where predators are likely to be, such as open valleys. They favor deep snow and other conditions, which are difficult for and have little attraction to predators.

Limiting Factors Limiting factors are influences that determine whether a wildlife population increases, decreases or remains stable. Food Both forage quantity and quality are important limiting factors for elk. Weather Winter weather can be a limiting factor for an elk population even when habitat is good. Disease Disease is seldom a population- limiting factor in elk herds, but it can significantly affect small portions of populations.

Arthritis in elk is usually caused by bacterial infections or injury. The obvious sign is joint swelling, which is sometimes accompanied by pus. Arthritic j oint swelling is common in elk but only occasionally does it lead to a fatal condition in itself.

Brucellosis is a bacterial disease spread from bison to elk in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. Fortunately, this disease is currently restricted to the elk her ds near Yellowstone National Park and is not present in other parts of the West.

Characteristics of brucellosis are abortion and infertility. Brucellosis is contagious and spread by infected animals that shed the bacterial organisms for several years, especially through fetal membranes including afterbirth , uterine secretions and milk.

Brucellosis is likely spread in elk through contact with the aborted fetuses of bison or contact with bison fetal membranes. Other than at the winter feed grounds in Jacks on Hole, Wyoming, elk have a low likelihood of coming in contact with aborted fetuses or fetal membranes of other elk because cow elk go off to be by themselves when calving. Bison, however, calve while staying within the herd.

This makes contact with bison fetal materials more likely among members of a bison herd. However, when brucellosis was eliminated from bison at Wind Cave through a program that removed bison testing positive for the disease, brucellosis disappeared from the elk herd. It is very likely that brucellosis could be eliminated from the northern Yellowstone elk herds if such a program were initiated there.

Political and social objections will likely prevent this from happening. Another problem elk may encounter is necrotic stomatitis. This produces a variety of diseases in elk, including foot rot.

The disease may cause pusproducing pneumonia or abscess formation in almost any body organ or joint cavity. The bacterial organism causes tissue destruction and many infected animals die. The disease is most common in elk living in poor ranges during winter, when wounds in the mouth are caused by abrasive woody vegetation, stems of hay, or seeds of some grasses.

Because elk regurgitate and chew their cud, these wounds become infected by bacteria that occur as a normal part of the digestive tract. Most well -nourished elk have antibodies against the organism and will recover.

Tuberculosis is another serious disease which has been reported in elk living in captivity or under semi -wild conditions. Fortunately, when deer or elk are infected, the disease progresses rapidly and the animal dies.

Tuberculosis is probably self -limiting in free -roaming deer and elk. Elk, like other ruminants, are susceptible to bluetongue and epizootic hemorrhagic disease EHD. Both are transmitted by biting midges. These viral diseases only occur in summer and fall.

They disappear with a killing frost. Although deadly in deer, there are no reports of widespread mortality in elk herds. Chronic wasting disease CWD is a rare but possible disease elk may contract. Parasites are very common in elk. In healthy animals the infestations are not serious. When elk are weak or suffering from other ailments, the effect of parasites can further weaken the animals.

There are two types of parasites: external and internal. Mites, ticks, flies, mosquitoes and lice are examples of external parasites. Internal parasites include the liver fluke, a concern only because it affects whether humans can consume the liver, and tapeworms, including one that migrates to the lungs, causing cysts, nematodes and roundworms.

Predation Elk have always had to cope with predation. Elk Nutrition Elk depend on their habitat for nourishment and product ion. Protein Protein is an important nutrient for animals.

Energy Elk expend energy to digest food, to move, grow and reproduce. Vitamin Requirements Nutritional deficiencies encountered by elk may be traced to energy, nitrogen or minerals, but not usually to vitamins. Plentiful in green vegetation and browse. Vitamin B: B complex vitamins are synthesized in the rumen by the microbes.

Vitamin C: Not needed in the diet because it is synthesized in tissue. Vitamin D: Present in muscle and fat and activated by the sun. Vitamin E: Obtained in green forage and stored in the liver. Vitamin K: Synthesized in the rumen by the microbes. Mineral Requirements Numerous minerals are necessary for elk to grow, develop and metabolize well. Both phosphorus and calcium are important for strong bones and teeth.

Phosphorus is also important for reproduction, red blood cells and transporting nutrients throughout the body. Nutritional problems arise when high calcium levels combine with low phosphorus levels. Phosphorus levels should be about 0. Calcium should be no more than five times the phosphorus level or a phosphorus deficiency can occur. In some parts of the Rocky Mountains, phosphorus may be lacking in range vegetation either seasonally or year round.

Analysis of vegetation is required to determine if a phosphorus deficiency exists. Your county extension agent can show you how to do this. Elk also need some sodium in their diet. Among other things, sodium affects the regulation of pH and plays a role in the transmission of nerve impulses.

Elk may use salt blocks, natural salt licks or drink brackish water to meet their sodium needs. Most vegetation is low in sodium, but elk attraction to salt is usually a non- essential luxury. Selenium is often thought to enhance antlers in elk. However, selenium is required at very low dietary levels, and at high levels it can be toxic.

Other minerals such as potassium, chlorine, magnesium, sulphur, iron, and iodine are very important but found at adequate levels in common range plants. Trace minerals such as copper, cobalt, zinc and manganese are also reportedly found at adequate levels in vegetation. Water Requirements Elk prefer habitats that are close to water.

Elk Habitat Requirements The needs of elk vary with conditions and the seasons. Components of Foraging Habitat Elk diets vary according to the season. Spring forage includes early -greening grasses and forbs that are highly palatable, succulent and nutritionally rich. Green- up occurs first on south- and west -facing slopes, so elk tend to occupy these the most. Elk move to higher elevations following the growth of new, young forage to maximize their nutritional plane.

In this way, they can best replenish body reserves and satisfy increased nutritional demands during gestation, lactation and antler growth. During summer, elk diet is composed of 60 to percent forbs, if they are available. Preferred forbs include dandelion, geranium, asters, clovers and milkvetches.

As forbs dry in late summer, elk utilize more grasses and shrubs. Fall begins a period when herbaceous leafy vegetation contains reduced protein but is still a good source of energy.

Grass averages 73 percent of the fall diet and elk begin to use more shrubs. Elk do best on winter ranges where herbaceous vegetation is available rather than range that contains a lot of browse.

This is, of course, not true if deep snow prevents access to the herbaceous forage. During times of deep snow, elk will seek out herbaceous forage on south- and west -facing slopes and wind- swept ridge tops. These areas often have shallow, dry soils and, although production is limited, forage quality is usually better than on adjacent sites with deeper soils.

These plants usually have more protein and are more palatable. Browse plants are used more during winter than any other time of the year. Quaking aspen, mountain maple, serviceberry, ceanothus, chokecherry, red- osier dogwood, mountain mahogany, willow and winterfat are choice browse species. Choice grass species include rough and Idaho fescue, bluebunch and western wheatgrass and sandberg bluegrass. West of the Continental Divide, browse is the primary winter food; grasses tend to be the primary winter food in areas east of the divide.

Cover Habitat Cover is important to elk for security or escape and for protection from extreme weather. Habitat Enhancement Before undertaking any enhancement of elk habitat on your land, it is important to determine what kind of habitat is provided in adjacent areas.