Which Cow is in Heat? 101

[MichaelB]

Every time I think I have things under control, something else goes wrong ...

The 2007 cow and the 2009 heifer were brought into a heat cycle using CIDRs, etc. by the AI vet on 7/01/10.

On 7/22/10, the heifer appeared to be coming into a heat cycle, but the cow did not. I assumed that cow was successfully bred using AI and the heifer was hard to settle. Cow was successfully field bred twice before, but does not clearly exhibit signs of estrus. I have been spending my early springtime guessing whether cow is actually pregnant, but she has dependably given me nice bull calves.

On about 8/11/10, heifer was exposed to a black angus bull. Bull owner said that he did not see the bull actually breed the heifer, but believed he saw bull and heifer sharing a cigarette one evening.

Now it is 8/24/10, and cow was trying to mount heifer yesterday evening, and gave a low, throaty moo reminiscent of Kim Carnes, although heifer was not allowing cow to actually mount. This morning heifer looked to have mucus stains under her pin bones.

Strictly from observation, which one (or both) may be in heat? The one who is trying to mount or the one who is being mounted?

Someone had posted about BioPRYN pregnancy test a while back, which I had conveniently bookmarked. I do IM shots, but how difficult will it be to get a blood sample from a tail vein? Any references on how to do that? We don't have bovine veterinarians close by (don't get me started on the AI vet experience) so I tend to learn new skills quickly. Do I provide my own sample vials for BioPRYN?

Thanks, if the vote is that heifer is still open, maybe I can run her over to the bull this evening.

Michael
2 cows and counting ...

 

[dun]

Heifer is open, maybe!

 

[hoss_ross]

Tail bleeding is pretty simple. Lift the tail with one hand, have a syringe in the other (I prefer syringes as those vacutainers are pretty irritating losing vacuum if the cow moves). Starting at about 3 inches or so from the tail head, you will notice small pockets on the midline of the tail. Put the needle in, pull back on the plunger and you should get blood (it's a blind stick, so you may have to move around a little bit with the syringe, but you'll know it when you get it). After you get at least 2-3cc's (I can't remember what the Biopryn measure is exactly - I usually get at least 4-5 to be sure) empty the syringe in the vacutainer and you're done. You can get the vacutainers from the Biopryn website, they're not too expensive, but you can get them cheaper from a vet. Make sure that you use a different syringe and needle for each cow - not trying to be a smartass - just want you to have good luck with it.

 

[vclavin]

Heifer is open, maybe!

I agree. I've seen the heifers in heat with a clear discharge and sometimes bloody.
Valerie

 

[Anonymous]

Taking the blood sample is easy, just make sure its 30 days post expected breeding( pulling the bull or ai service) and send it in. There's a good video on the biopryn website thaty shoows how to pull thje sample. If me being a total newbie at this game can do it, so can you. I was surprised at how easy it was

 

[Anonymous]

Edited for some spelling

 

[angus9259]

heifer's open. maybe too late for the bull though.

good description on getting a blood sample. I found it important too to hold the tail STRAIGHT up - don't let the tail crook. and be patient

 

[dun]

heifer's open. maybe too late for the bull though.

good description on getting a blood sample. I found it important too to hold the tail STRAIGHT up - don't let the tail crook. and be patient

If you turn her in with the bull now and wait 3 weeks you;ll know if she was open or not.

 

[angus9259]

heifer's open. maybe too late for the bull though.

good description on getting a blood sample. I found it important too to hold the tail STRAIGHT up - don't let the tail crook. and be patient

If you turn her in with the bull now and wait 3 weeks you;ll know if she was open or not.

unless he's a night rider

 

[MichaelB]

Thank you all for your replies.

My son and I hustled the heifer back over to the bull yesterday evening. She promptly mounted the bull, so maybe we continue to have process issues. The bull was very interested in her, and the bull owner agreed to keep her there for the next 30 days in hopes of getting her settled. So now the older cow will calve sometime in April 2011 and the heifer will not calve until at least June 2011.

I did some further research and realized that I should have been at the Bio-Tracking website instead of the one that I had bookmarked, and I was able to view the video on taking the blood sample from the tail vein. I could probably do that. And Hoss_Ross, your comment about cross contamination of samples was on the mark, no offense taken there.

My only hope is that once she gets pregnant the first time that she will be easier to settle in the future.

Michael

 

[angus9259]

My son and I hustled the heifer back over to the bull yesterday evening. She promptly mounted the bull

Well, at least you know the bull got bred.

 

[dun]

My son and I hustled the heifer back over to the bull yesterday evening. She promptly mounted the bull

Well, at least you know the bull got bred.

Not if he wasn;t standing for her

 

[Dixieangus]

My only hope is that once she gets pregnant the first time that she will be easier to settle in the future.

Michael

So once you get a heifer bred she is easier to breed in the future

 

[dun]

My only hope is that once she gets pregnant the first time that she will be easier to settle in the future.

Michael

So once you get a heifer bred she is easier to breed in the future

I've never found it to be so. Hard breeders (low fertility) seems to last just as high fertility does

 

[JustSimmental]

Hello all --- I am new on these boards, but if I had a heifer that was hard to breed (with everything else optimal like health and nutrition) She would go to the yards. No reason to keep a slow breeder when there are so many good ones out there.

JustSimms

 

[MichaelB]

Yeah, I know. I've been waiting for this particular cow for 3 years, and with my luck she will be infertile. She is spending two cycles with a live cover bull, and then I'll do a blood test on her to confirm whether she is pregnant or not. If she isn't, then the only question is whether I should butcher her for my use or sell her as beef only.

Her sister (same dam) looks at a bull and get pregnant, and this year she improved her skills by staring at an AI straw. Her sire was a Virginia State Champion (against Red Angus!), and I've wanted a heifer by him since I first started looking at cattle.

On the other hand, I will be thrilled if she is actually pregnant and will try to prove Dun wrong next year.

Michael