Lutalyse or Not?

[I luv herfrds]

Went out this morning looking at the new calves, as we were leaving I looked over at the corral where the bulls are kept, along with the yearlings. They stay in seperate pens, well there were the yearling heifers running around inside of the bulls pen.
Oh crap.
Husband said to not worry they were probably not cycling. :roll:
They are all close to being or are 12 months old.

My question is, should were go ahead and give all of the heifers a shot of lutalyse or just wait and see?

 

[bandit80]

Went out this morning looking at the new calves, as we were leaving I looked over at the corral where the bulls are kept, along with the yearlings. They stay in seperate pens, well there were the yearling heifers running around inside of the bulls pen.
Oh crap.
Husband said to not worry they were probably not cycling. :roll:
They are all close to being or are 12 months old.

My question is, should were go ahead and give all of the heifers a shot of lutalyse or just wait and see?

I would go ahead and give them the shot just in case. Could be a cheap insurance policy.

I have gotten into a routine of giving all of the replacement heifers I keep a shot of lutalyse every year, just in case. It seems as though it never fails I will have a bull get in with the calves after weaning while I background them. I give the shot when I move them to where we feed our heifers over the winter. It relatively inexpensive, and can save a headache down the line.

EDIT: 12 months old, I would bet several if not all are already cycling. If you have good fertility in your herd, you will have some if not all of them cycling.

And I think you need to wait at least 7 days before giving the shot. Others may want to confirm that.

 

[DavisBeefmasters]

I would say yes, shot of Lutalyse just to be sure... as far as the timing, I would wait 7 to 14 days prior to giving them the shot.

 

[msscamp]

No, I would not give Lute. I've got a problem with aborting heifers - I'm not comfortable with it, because I believe it can do more harm than good, and I'm not willing to take that chance. You stated that these are yearling heifers - so, if they did settle, they would calve at 19 months. That is old enough to be viable. No, it is not ideal, but is is viable. We've had a few heifers calve at 12-13 months of age with no problems, and they went on to become members of the herd with no problems. I would just watch these heifers, and be prepared to give the neccessary support should they prove to be pregnant.

 

[dun]

No, I would not give Lute. I've got a problem with aborting heifers - I'm not comfortable with it, because I believe it can do more harm than good, and I'm not willing to take that chance.

Even at 2 weeks bred it isn;t really aborting. All it will do is cause them to recycle. Implantation hasn;t taken place yet. It will cause the CL to go away and they'll cycle just as if they weren;t bred.

 

[msscamp]

No, I would not give Lute. I've got a problem with aborting heifers - I'm not comfortable with it, because I believe it can do more harm than good, and I'm not willing to take that chance.

Even at 2 weeks bred it isn;t really aborting. All it will do is cause them to recycle. Implantation hasn;t taken place yet. It will cause the CL to go away and they'll cycle just as if they weren;t bred.

Thanks for the info, dun, I trust your experience and your judgement.

 

[vs_cattle]

Hi,
Its really your call here you can go either way
lut them like others say and have cheap insurance policy let them have more time to grow
or you can leave them be and let nature take its course thats if your okay with the bulls they were bred to

 

[glesamiz]

I agree with DUN. If lutalyse is given early there should be no setback. If give midterm or later there maybe problems. If given late term watch very closely. On the recent matings, the effect from lutalyse would be much less than the results of calving too early and out of sequence wih your herd. given to a non pregnant animal there will be no effect or it will stimulate heat. If used correctly lutalyse is a very safe product.

G Lesamiz, DVM

 

[deenranch]

We've had a few heifers calve at 12-13 months of age with no problems, and they went on to become members of the herd with no problems.

Heifers that were bred at 3 or 4 months of age?

 

[msscamp]

We've had a few heifers calve at 12-13 months of age with no problems, and they went on to become members of the herd with no problems.

Heifers that were bred at 3 or 4 months of age?

That is what the gestation tables indicate. I didn't think it was possible either, but I was present at all of the deliveries (Mom's, as well as her calf), and I can atest to their age through calving records.

 

[KNERSIE]

We've had a few heifers calve at 12-13 months of age with no problems, and they went on to become members of the herd with no problems.

Heifers that were bred at 3 or 4 months of age?

That is what the gestation tables indicate. I didn't think it was possible either, but I was present at all of the deliveries (Mom's, as well as her calf), and I can atest to their age through calving records.

A few years ago I had lost a heifer that could not calf and she was just under 14 months old. I didn't believe it possible either at the time.

I have quite a few 5 month old heifer calves cycling at the moment. Not something I'm used to seeing in my herd.

 

[msscamp]

A few years ago I had lost a heifer that could not calf and she was just under 14 months old. I didn't believe it possible either at the time.

I have quite a few 5 month old heifer calves cycling at the moment. Not something I'm used to seeing in my herd.

We were either very lucky, the low birth weight trait of Murray Grey's worked in our favor, or Dad was a genious at selecting herd bulls - I'm not sure which, and maybe all of the above. Whatever the reason, all of the little girls that were bred early were able to calve with help, and we never lost a heifer. With a little special handling - a bottle here and there, and access to creep feed - the calves did great. I've got to say, it's more than a little unnerving to see the herd bull mounting these little girls - and them standing for him. We pulled our herd bull early more than once because of it.

 

[tlmcr]

In my experience the reason the heifers are in the bull pen is that they are cycling. I would give the lut in 10-14 days to be safe and keep them in synch with your cow herd.

 

[Angus In Texas]

Personally I would look at how big the heifers are..... if they are on the small side then I would suggest giving the shot but if they are framier heifers that have grown out nicely up to this point you might be ok if a couple are bred.

 

[milkmaid]

Personally I would look at how big the heifers are..... if they are on the small side then I would suggest giving the shot but if they are framier heifers that have grown out nicely up to this point you might be ok if a couple are bred.

Ditto.

I breed mine as yearlings. They'll be 21 months when they calve. Since these will have the whole summer to grow I wouldn't worry about it a bit unless you really don't want them potentially calving at that time of year.

 

[I luv herfrds]

Had a Jersey heifer prematurely bred and she is forever stunted.
These are nice growing heifers and I just don't want them stunted.
Going to talk to our vet about the lute.

 

[Double R Ranch]

No, I would not give Lute. I've got a problem with aborting heifers - I'm not comfortable with it, because I believe it can do more harm than good, and I'm not willing to take that chance.

Even at 2 weeks bred it isn;t really aborting. All it will do is cause them to recycle. Implantation hasn;t taken place yet. It will cause the CL to go away and they'll cycle just as if they weren;t bred.

I agree with Dun as usual. If I even think it is possible I give the heifer Lute. As said in previous posts I have bought a pair of heifers before that were about 5 weights maybe 6. One calved a few months later. Had to pull the bull calf. She was just to small. She never grew and neither did her calf. That teaches me to buy without preg checking them myself.
Did a trade recently with a client of mine who has my stock and my breedings. He got a heifer calf out of the last pregnant cow he bought from me. When I went to look at her I found she was in with a bull at 500 pounds.
She was cycling. Saw her in heat myself before I brought her home. Told him not to leave it in with the bull. When it came around that he wanted to trade an awsome heifer for a steer of same weight I jumped on it but the min. it got to my facilities it got a lute shot, about 30 days after bull was introduced to the whole herd. Will not take any chances anymore. Can not afford to loose good stock when a simple shot will keep that from happening "to early". Just my opinion but listen to the vet who posted. They usually know there stuff ;-)
Double R