Standing Heat

Help Support CattleToday:

dawnrogerl

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 1, 2007
Messages
74
Reaction score
0
Location
North Carolina
Hey, this Forum works so good, I'll have to try it again :)

We only have 4 cows at this time and detecting standing heat is hard. I raised cattle back in the 60s and they used to ride each other all the time. This time, in the past year I have not once seen the cows riding each other. The only signs is once and a while one of them will stay off by herself bawling. Each month I detect some mucus on the rear end. But to say she is in stand heat is hard to time,in this case. The last couple of times I have used CIDR's and the shots. (timed AI), but I understand that the timing can still be off this way. COMMENTS: will be appreciated.
 
Some cows are more aggressive about riding than others. With only four, you might not have one that wants to bull. Sometimes you can watch the cows for 20 minutes and not see a thing, then they won't stay away from each other for the next 20 minutes. I take a lawn chair and a beer. Sometimes I watch so hard I collapse from exhaustion :p and go to sleep in the chair.

Also, some don't seem to stay in very long. Try heat patches to increase your odds.
 
I hear that jkwilson. I usually wait until I get in by the fire and then it is lights out. :p
Most days I am working around the pasture for 3-4 hours in the morning and then a couple in the late afternoon and see nothing. So !!! I don't know. Does open heifer & cows tend to ride more then bred ones? As for the patches. I have tried them and feel that normally they are a good Idea. I see large herds using them around here. BUT !!!!!!, when I tried them in the summer, the cows would spend a lot of their time in the woods, because of the heat and the flies and not only rub all the color off but pull the whole patch off also. So that wasn't very successful either. Soooooooooooooo I don't know.
 
Ours rub the patches off under the trees too. Get a tube of Kamar glue and dab a little of that on along with the adhesive that comes on the gray patches. They can't rub them off then. Have to be careful or you will pull out the hair when pulling them off.

As for them scratching the patches up under trees. After you have seen a few patches you can tell the difference.

Good luck,
Farmgirl
 
We heat detected on 20 head last spring and there were several I never saw riding or being ridden. However, when the tech checked them, he said they had been in heat. He recommeded locking them up in tighter quarters for 1/2 day without the calves and that might help. He also said there will be individuals that will never show heat but have been in heat. I struggle with it too. We have used the heat patches, they were somewhat helpful, but some did lose them.
 
If you have the space put a steer or a Gomer bull (one with all the parts but has been fixed so he can't breed) in with them. Sometimes having the male there makes them want to show off and of course the male will show interest.
 
I also recommend the gomer. But with just 4 cows it would be very hard to justify the expense. Approx. $800 for the gomer and another $85 for the chin marker. Another few bucks for the paint. Another way is to ask the vet to keep an eye out for a free martin. They can usually be bought pretty cheap.
The other patches and butt markers are pretty good but you also must have other cows that mount the ones in heat. That does not always happen.
Stress can cause cattle to not come into heat at all. Stress can mean that their BCS is to low, or they are very nervous for some reason or another. Even if they show signs of heat very minor stress can cause low conception rates. I have seen a change in weather throw them off. It can sometimes take several months for cattle to mentally settle down when transported to a new pasture.
It is very hard to judge what your cattle are like and what their conditions are. We only know what our cattle do and act like, so it is hard to say what yours should be doing.
Cattle to be used for AI should be docile, easy working, calm in the chute, the non nervous type of cattle. I would not allow dogs or strangers around unless they are accustomed to being with them.
Remember you are working with women, they have to be pampered. ;-)
 
Another way is to ask the vet to keep an eye out for a free martin. They can usually be bought pretty cheap.

Do they ride more agressively than other cows?

I only AI the registered herd so there is always a few almost 3 month old bullcalves around, they are pretty good spotters in my situation. I have found that they usually start showing interest long before actual standing heat so just keep that in mind.
 
Thanks guys, all good comments. As for your question Novateck, The are somewhat expensive Reg. Angus 5-7 condition scores and extreamly dostial probably because there are only 4 of them. We also have a 2 year old bull. He is the biggest baby of them all.
 
KNERSIE":3w225aep said:
Another way is to ask the vet to keep an eye out for a free martin. They can usually be bought pretty cheap.

Do they ride more agressively than other cows?

I only AI the registered herd so there is always a few almost 3 month old bullcalves around, they are pretty good spotters in my situation. I have found that they usually start showing interest long before actual standing heat so just keep that in mind.
My understanding is that they work pretty good but they also have to be given hormone shots.
I did not think of the young bulls. Good idea, maybe. You may recall that some time ago I posted about a cow that I could not figure out how she got bred. The only bull around was the gomer. Well she finally had her calf. It was a pure bred. The only other possibility was she was bred by a 7 month old ready to wean. The vet said it was possible.
If you already have a 2 year old bull put him in the good pen next to the cows. They will usually pair up at the fence. As far as standing that is another problem.
 
We used to select the horniest acting steer each year and used him as a gomer/teaser. Now we have enough horny heifers that it isn;t a problem. Usually bred cows, unless short bred, won;t ride much if any. BUT, there are alwasy exceptions.
 
Statistics say 70% of heats happen between 6:00 PM - 6:00 AM so spend 1/2 hour at dawn and dusk watching your cows. We are calving our commercial when it is time to breed our purebred so we usually do a midnight check too just because we are there. I mark with the cheap tail paint and although it isn't fool-proof it does give me an indication. Some cows are less likely to climb when they are pregnant. I always have one or more freezer steers around. I will watch through the summer and the annoying little steer calf that follows the bulls around and tries to climb everyone becomes my dinner.;)
 
Victoria":jenj5n4x said:
Statistics say 70% of heats happen between 6:00 PM - 6:00 AM so spend 1/2 hour at dawn and dusk watching your cows.

I was about to say the same thing.

I have noticed that my Red Angus tend to be less aggressive on pasture than when dry-lotted when it comes to exhibiting heat. I would miss most heats if I wasn't out there early am and just before dark. I think they would rather eat than chase each other all day. My Simmis and commercials are much better at showing heat. It's got nothing to do with their fertility just that they don't see the point in exerting themeselves unless a feed bucket is involved.
 
A horney little 4-5 month old little bull calf will make you an excellent spotter bull. Watch him and you'll know when she's standing. And he'll think he's the king of the world. :lol: :lol: They seem to catch the scent of the cow coming in much earlier than a mature bull so will also be following along "trying" much longer. (Sound familar)??
 
estrus Alert Patches work well
a young 4-5 month old bull calf works even better
ya gotta remember that the 6am and 6 pm rule only applies to areas where a cows optimum temperature is obtained. Cows show heat best in air temps below 55 degrees. if you are detecting heat in FL in May in 90 degrees she may not show heat except at 2 am
lol

T
 

Latest posts

Top