Heifers: No heat?

[boondocks]

Hi! Have a couple of yearlings (registered BA) that are about 14 mos old. We'd planned to breed them at 15 months but they are not yet cycling regularly, to our knowledge anyway. We've observed one heat cycle in one, and none in the other. I've read that heats at that age can be subtle, but if the animal is sufficiently mature (not just age but size) that they will breed fine.

Thoughts?

We really don't want to miss a whole year of breeding them, and don't want to wait too much past late August or so. (Tentative plan is to AI to a registered BA bull who won't throw a big calf).

Also, any of you upstate New Yorkers on here got a suggestion for an AI tech? The guy we thought might do it isn't doing it anymore. I hope to get trained, but won't be able to in time for this season. Thanks, as always!

 

[dun]

First step is to have a Repro Tract Scoring done on them. That will give you the information you need as to if they are cycling or not or if there is soemhitng peculiar about their ovarys.

 

[tdarden3k]

I have never heard of this test. Who can perform it ? Large animal vet or AI tech or ??????
Is it an expensive test ?
Is this something that can be semi-routinely done on heifers or just on those where issues are suspected ?
Thanks

 

[dun]

I have never heard of this test. Who can perform it ? Large animal vet or AI tech or ??????
Is it an expensive test ?
Is this something that can be semi-routinely done on heifers or just on those where issues are suspected ?
Thanks

I would think that a good/trained AI tech could do it. We use the vet and palpate all heifers at around 13-14 months. That makes a good feeder age for the feed lots if they don;t have at least a RTS of 4.

http://www.sites.ext.vt.edu/newsletter- ... s-935.html

 

[Jessica06]

Syncing them with a CIDR protocol should induce them to start cycling. At 14 months they should be good to go.