Time from calving to breeding question.

[ryan_289]

I noticed my bull breed one of my cows today. The only problem is she calved on Feb. 9. I would have expected her to be bred already. This is the only cow I have actually witnessed bred. Ive watched him follow cows around and attemt to ride cows. Ive not noticed any cows in heat or bullish cows. Of course im only out there a fraction of the time. I just figured that she should have been bred by now. Should I be worried about my bull?

 

[Santas and Duhram Reds]

Several factors to consider. What is the body condition of the cow? of the bull? Age of cow? of the bull? What is the cow to bull ratio? Was her current calf birthed normally?

 

[ryan_289]

Body condition of the cow is normal. She is around 5 yr old. The bull was with the cows this winter, he was 2 in March. Ive only got 11 cows so he should be fine.

 

[snickers]

what size are his balls? Our young bull bred several heifers twice so we took him to the vet and his testicles were to small is what we were told. we actually did get two calves from him though so he wasn't completely shootin blanks. lol

 

[ryan_289]

They appear to be normal size compared to other bulls we have raised.

 

[msscamp]

Should I be worried about my bull?

If she is the only one who is being bred multiple times, I would be more concerned about her. If you have other cows who are in the same situation, I would give some serious thought to having a breeding soundness evaluation done on him.

 

[cypressfarms]

I know this is kind of late advice for you, ryan, but I get all of my bulls checked late winter every year. It only costs me $30 per bull, and I have some piece of mind knowing that their o.k. Not that the day after the test they couldn't hurt themselves, but I cannot go a year without a calf crop - and that's real cheap insurance.

I would probably be more concerned about the cow if all of the other cows appear o.k. Do you know anyone that could preg check for you?

 

[ryan_289]

The main reason I got suspicious is about a week before I saw him attempt to ride another cow that calved in January. Never acually saw him finish though, cow wasnt standing. Im carrying him this evening to the vet to have checked. If he checks out fine ill just watch the herd close. I can preg check but they need to be further along before I can tell for sure.

 

[ryan_289]

My bull tested out at an 85% The vet said he shouldnt have any problems breeding. Never did get a real good sample though. I put heat detect stickers on all of my cows this weekend. Ill just keep an eye on them. Might be spread out a little next year. Will have to hold the bull next spring to tighten everything back up.