I have a herd of 24 crossbred cattle and keep an Angus bull on them year round. Last year he missed 8 cows, this year he missed 12. :bang: Six of these cows havn't calved in two years but have calved prior to that. Needless to say, the bull is no longer welcome on my farm. My question is, what to do with the cows that havn't calved? I have a vet comming up this week to pregancy check them and to do a BSE test on the bull just for curiosity sake since he will be here anyway. For the cows that test open, do I keep them and put them on a new bull or just sell them and buy some replacements? I hate to get rid of them but I can't see the reasoing for feeding an open cow all winter.
Open cows: Keep em or Sell em?
- Thread starter SouthArk
- Start date
CKC1586
Well-known member
If those cows were not exposed to a fertile bull is it their fault they are open!???
highgrit
Well-known member
Might be more to it than a bull or cow problem. Diet or mineral problems could be the cause also. To have 8 open one year and then 12 the next year, something is bad wrong. Maybe something with the vaccines? You have a serious problem somewhere.
salebarn junkie
Well-known member
If your going to run it like a business sell the cows. If you dont care about money keep them. The question i have is why you waited a year to check the bull that left 25% of your cows open.
If they have been that long they tend to get to greasy fat, causes problems breeding. If you have the Vet coming let him advise you he can see all you have going on there and will be able to best advise you.
Crazy Farmgirl
Well-known member
The open cows need to go, being open for a year or two could prove to be problematic IF they were to be bred now. As for the bull I would tend to think he's not the problem as he had (in some cases) 2 yrs to get the cows bred and failed yet did breed others, I find it hard to believe that in 24 heat cycles he "missed" them or had fertility issues with only those specific cows that many times. I also agree with the others that you may have a much bigger problem somewhere in your program,be it minerals or diet or even disease it need to be addressed.
I would definatly sell the cows that have gone two years. If it was me, I would probably sell all the opens, and try to buy bred cows. Did you notice the same cows coming in heat over and over, or did they seem bred?
High Cotton
Well-known member
I would sell open cows, test the bull, and look very close at my management practices. Something's wrong with one of those things. I don't think it's a problem with the bull. He had plenty of time to handle his buisness. If he was infertile you would have no breed cows, but I would have him tested just to rule it out for sure.
First off, thanks for taking the time to reply to my question. It seems that the consensus is to get rid of all of the cows that are test open. I am aware that I have let this go on for too long without addressing the problem and I could give a list of excuses that in the end would leave me in the same boat. I inheritied this herd from my grandfather who never kept any calving records. Two years ago I taged them all and started keeping records. Now that I know what I am working with, I can try to address the problem. As far as their diet, they have free range over 65 acres of bermuda grass pasture and have free choice minerals (molases based liquid) and salt blocks year round. We vacinate them twice a year with the pour on Cydectin. I have two other herds in other pastures that are on the same diet that are not having any problems with calving.
I talked with the vet this morning to schedule the BSE testing and he wanted to have him tested for trich as well. He will be tested in the morning and should have the BSE test back in a day and the Trich test in 5-7 days. Either way, the results are going to help me find the problem or eliminate a potential one. Thanks again for the help.
I talked with the vet this morning to schedule the BSE testing and he wanted to have him tested for trich as well. He will be tested in the morning and should have the BSE test back in a day and the Trich test in 5-7 days. Either way, the results are going to help me find the problem or eliminate a potential one. Thanks again for the help.
glacierridge
Well-known member
oh my!!
Sometimes if they are good cows, a little lost time can be forgiven, but that much lost time is hard to justify. I think more important than selling them, is to at least know why they have been open so long.
I'm sorry that you have had such rough fortune.
Sometimes if they are good cows, a little lost time can be forgiven, but that much lost time is hard to justify. I think more important than selling them, is to at least know why they have been open so long.
I'm sorry that you have had such rough fortune.
Crazy Farmgirl
Well-known member
SouthArk":11cgtjah said:
I'm hoping you just mistyped here. You do understand that Cydectin pour-on is for the treatment of internal/external parasites and NOT a vaccine. If you are not vaccinating you may want to discuss this with the vet also and find out what he recommends for your area.
chippie
Well-known member
Also, the pour on wormers are not as effective as the injectable and oral.
I agree with waiting until your veterinarian comes out before deciding what to so.
I agree with waiting until your veterinarian comes out before deciding what to so.
cow pollinater
Well-known member
Get rid of the bull no matter what the vet says. Cull prices are good enough that you can turn around and get a clean young bull that is semen tested and ready to work and come out pretty close to even. Get rid of the open cows. You'll cough up some cash buying back bred cows but when you factor in selling steers next year they look pretty cheap.
Nite Hawk
Well-known member
The problem is if the bull had a STD he may have infected your cows, so even if you get a new clean healthy bull, he may become infected from your cows next breeding season, and the problem goes on and on.
You need to get to root of the problem that is for sure...
Nite Hawk
You need to get to root of the problem that is for sure...
Nite Hawk
Sell them! Open cows here are sold. Doesn't matter if it's their fault, the bulls fault, or even my fault. If they can't breed every year under my management I don't need them. The whole point of having mother cows is to raise calves. If they don't do that there is no reason to feed them.
I would checking the bull for STD's and PI. You have a problem that needs to be identified as soon as possible. You should also evaluate your worming program. The same product used repeatedly can cause resistant parasites. As for your mineral program, you should check the ingredients in your liquid feed. I have yet to see any of that product that was reasonably priced for what is included in it. Some sack mineral would probably be more cost effective and be better for your cattle. Ask your vet what his successful customers are using and their management practices. He doesn't have to give names but he should be able to tell you what works best in your area.
I would checking the bull for STD's and PI. You have a problem that needs to be identified as soon as possible. You should also evaluate your worming program. The same product used repeatedly can cause resistant parasites. As for your mineral program, you should check the ingredients in your liquid feed. I have yet to see any of that product that was reasonably priced for what is included in it. Some sack mineral would probably be more cost effective and be better for your cattle. Ask your vet what his successful customers are using and their management practices. He doesn't have to give names but he should be able to tell you what works best in your area.
Taurus
Well-known member
Let's see....8 cows don't get bred on the first breeding season....same six cows don't get bred on next breeding season, but two cows were able to have a calf..but then again six new cows comes up open on second breeding season. I would wait to see what the vet says.
