Story for you folks. ;-)
I purchased a pair of twin holstein calves in the middle of August. Decided, economically, it made more sense to put them on a nurse cow and let her feed them for me - besides the fact that I know they grow faster on a cow than on a bottle.
So then I needed a cow to put them on. Can't be picky at that point other than that the cow produces enough milk to feed the calves. I bought a 5-6 y/o holstein cull cow from my boss, milking at ~3 gallons per day, and had been open for at least 18 months and running with a good bull the entire time. Open at least eighteen months, let me repeat that. :lol:
Probably not the most intelligent reason to purchase a cow, and purchasing a cow with this type of history....anyway, that's another subject. LOL.
She hadn't been vaccinated since who-knew-when, and never wormed, so I started there. Gave her two weeks after she arrived at my place to get settled in, used to the routine, etc, so there would be very little stress on her.
They say liver flukes account for a certain percentage of open cows, and Ivomec Plus will take care of that. So I gave it, and checked that box. BVD problems account for another percentage of open cows, so checked that box. Bovishield Gold FP 5 L5. And then the Ultrabac 8 which is an eight-way clostridium. Checked that box.
Basically just manuvered the cow into the alley way, gave her the vaccinations and wormer, and then let her go. About as much stress on her as when a horse gets vaccinated. Repeated everything exactly 3 weeks later. Gave her a few weeks, and then called up my vet. Said I had a cow here that needed to be bred.
I took her over to the clinic, she was palpated as open (no surprise), clean and cycling, said she was mid-cycle. They said I could leave her there, they'd give her Lutalyse, she'd be in heat in a few days, when she came in they'd AI her and then I could pick her up. Everything went according to schedule, she was bred 10/15....
...had her palpated this morning as ~45 days bred. Settled first service.
Just made me a believer in a good vaccination program. :lol: I'm sure it wasn't related to the feed she's getting now - she was on better feed at the dairy. I'm sure it wasn't that she was given Lutalyse - they say a natural heat is better than an "artificial" one. I'm sure it had nothing to do with being AI'd - again, natural is better than frozen semen and everything was normal inside that cow. So that just leaves the vaccinations and wormer as the reason.
Anyways, just wanted to share. ;-) 162 is due 7/24/2006. I'll have her ultrasound'd in a few weeks to see if it's a heifer or bull calf - that will make all the difference as to whether I calve her out or sell her as a dry nurse cow.
I purchased a pair of twin holstein calves in the middle of August. Decided, economically, it made more sense to put them on a nurse cow and let her feed them for me - besides the fact that I know they grow faster on a cow than on a bottle.
So then I needed a cow to put them on. Can't be picky at that point other than that the cow produces enough milk to feed the calves. I bought a 5-6 y/o holstein cull cow from my boss, milking at ~3 gallons per day, and had been open for at least 18 months and running with a good bull the entire time. Open at least eighteen months, let me repeat that. :lol:
Probably not the most intelligent reason to purchase a cow, and purchasing a cow with this type of history....anyway, that's another subject. LOL.
She hadn't been vaccinated since who-knew-when, and never wormed, so I started there. Gave her two weeks after she arrived at my place to get settled in, used to the routine, etc, so there would be very little stress on her.
They say liver flukes account for a certain percentage of open cows, and Ivomec Plus will take care of that. So I gave it, and checked that box. BVD problems account for another percentage of open cows, so checked that box. Bovishield Gold FP 5 L5. And then the Ultrabac 8 which is an eight-way clostridium. Checked that box.
Basically just manuvered the cow into the alley way, gave her the vaccinations and wormer, and then let her go. About as much stress on her as when a horse gets vaccinated. Repeated everything exactly 3 weeks later. Gave her a few weeks, and then called up my vet. Said I had a cow here that needed to be bred.
I took her over to the clinic, she was palpated as open (no surprise), clean and cycling, said she was mid-cycle. They said I could leave her there, they'd give her Lutalyse, she'd be in heat in a few days, when she came in they'd AI her and then I could pick her up. Everything went according to schedule, she was bred 10/15....
...had her palpated this morning as ~45 days bred. Settled first service.
Just made me a believer in a good vaccination program. :lol: I'm sure it wasn't related to the feed she's getting now - she was on better feed at the dairy. I'm sure it wasn't that she was given Lutalyse - they say a natural heat is better than an "artificial" one. I'm sure it had nothing to do with being AI'd - again, natural is better than frozen semen and everything was normal inside that cow. So that just leaves the vaccinations and wormer as the reason.
Anyways, just wanted to share. ;-) 162 is due 7/24/2006. I'll have her ultrasound'd in a few weeks to see if it's a heifer or bull calf - that will make all the difference as to whether I calve her out or sell her as a dry nurse cow.
