The saga continues

Help Support CattleToday:

shadyhollownj

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 29, 2009
Messages
496
Reaction score
0
Location
south jersey
So I am dreading even writing this cause I am hoping its not true. I believe Star Lake strikes again. I purchased a bred heifer due to calve in 3 weeks. She isnt that wide like all my other cows and I had some concern. I was moving cows and put the bull in last night with the bred cows. Today he jumped her and got her while she was running away and not standing. I didnt see any activity with any other cows and her the rest of the time I was home. I mean could this really be my luck with this d### sale or is it the fact the bull wasnt in with them and was feeling frisky. I still gotta get blood tomorrow and send it out. Basically I dont have a leg to stand on as far as star lake right even though they were preg checked and sold as bred. I just need to know my options before I lose my mind. Someone just ease my mind and say its not that bad.
 
Our bull acted like that on a cow in December that was supposed to be pregnant.The next week I hauled her to the vet for an abcess on her jaw and had him preg her she was about 6-7 months bred.
 
Ive never actually palpated a cow but its gotta be obvious if she is that far along or even if they got the date wrong right? She is high headed but has calmed down now a little. We will see how if goes tomorrow. Thats good to hear sooner.
 
Yeah as said, I've seen bred cows be mounted before, and the fact she didnt stand sounds like a good thing. You'll def. know if you palpate her, a calf that far along will be evident right away, maybe a ways in over the pelvis, but will be there. I checked a couple of our cows 2 weeks ago, should of been around 7-8 months bred, I had to go in them up to my shoulder, but there was a good size calf "down in there", good luck
Jenna
 
Shadowhollow,
suall
You should be able to feel a calf by just bumping the heifer on her lower right side. I do it on ours. Usually right after they are 7 months. Blood test is a useful tool also.

Good luck.
Farmgirl
 
So got blood sent that out. Didnt feel anything on her side as I know you usually can and get movement back. If this was one of out normal cows this would be no problem but the only way you are getting near her is in the headgate. Gloved up and went in past elbow and I believe I felt a head on the left but being that I never done this who knows. When we AI I never really go that far so anatomy wise I dont know if the round mass I felt was inside of pelvis or some other bone/muscle. I dont know if theres anything that I could mistake as something the size of a calfs head so let me know. So I hoping their date of 3-8 is just off and my bull is just a pain in my a**. On a positive the ET calf is growing well and is almost the size of a heifer that has a month on him.
 
The rumen is on the left and it feels like a tight bag of rice. Hope the blood comes back positive
 
On real big cows in the 3rd trimester, sometimes, especially if you have shorter arm you cant reach the calf at all. The biggest thing I use is if I can pick up the cervix and there is no "weight" on it, the cow is prob open at the 6+month stage. It should be stretched tight over the pelvic rim on a cow that far a long. Also, you can sometimes reach up and feel the blood pulsing more than usual in the main artery, above the rectum. If the hard object kinda bounced/bobed when touched it prob was a calf. The rumen like hook said will feel kinda solid too, but wont move to the touch, if that makes sense. I know people who have had the calf kinda suck on there finger while palping, never had it yet, but maybe someday.?
 
Now that said Hook I am not so sure. But then again I am 6'1" and was only elbow deep so maybe that was the rumen on the left and I just wasnt deep enough on the right. Did the biopryn quick test so should have results by sat. Also the wifes a nurse and sometimes that far along on people she said they can test open late in pregnancy. I gotta call them after the results. I should have put one of the easy cows in the chute that are due the same day as her to compare. Now I think about it.
 
shadyhollownj":15n4eccn said:
Someone just ease my mind and say its not that bad.
It is not that bad!

It is completely possible, especially with a heifer, that she is due in 3 weeks and you can not tell by looking at her. It is completely possible (even probable) that the bull was riding her as a social/herd/status/whatever behavior. Soon enough you will know, but don't lose hope. Don't palp her if you don't know what you are doing. I would encourage you to use your other cattle if you want to learn, but if she is a spooky heifer you may want to minimize your negative contacts with her and the chute to as few as possible.
 
Also the wifes a nurse and sometimes that far along on people she said they can test open late in pregnancy.
I had to laugh, you used the cattle term "open" to describe people :) , I do that all the time too, my patients at my office have learned my cattle terminology, as I quite often refer to cattle health terms sometimes.

Also, I know my neighbor AI tech said a long bred cow is a great heat seeker, she loved to have one of them in a group of cattle to be ai'd. Cows, are super hormonal during and especially later in preg. So, seeing a bull, or other preg cows mounting during this wild hormone phase is pretty normal since some pregnancy hormones are the same as those present in a cow who is in heat,= confused bull.

Hope you get a good result on the blood sample,
Jenna
 
She's OPEN. I don't even know what to say or think at this point. Is star lake really that scummy. What are my options. Do I have any recourse. I have a 1200 lb 29 month old 7000 dollar heifer WTF.
 
Dang. That was a complete dispersal sale right? If she slipped it its not their fault. Are you sure she is the same one you bid on? That blows
 
Definetly the same one. She was supposed to be palpated before the sale. That would be 5 months. I got her she was over 6 months after lathrop. She didn't kick here she is in a 4 acre winter pasture right behind the house. I would have found a 6.5 month old. I'm gonna say she wasn't bred and they probably realized before the sale. I am losing my mind. Do I flush her? I mean I know people will knock me but I gotta get something out of her in case there is a problem calving out a 3.5 year old. I would rather spend another thousand with a chance that something would pay off. I don't know really what to do.
 

Latest posts

Top