Will a bull chase a cow even though she's already bred?

[Debbie Bullock]

Hi, everyone! I just joined this forum to ask this question but got so involved in reading all the different posts I almost forgot WHY I was on here. Was trying to see if my question had already been asked and got sidetracked. <G> It's a very interesting and informative forum and I'm glad I found it.

Now, my husband swears he thought this particular cow was bred but yesterday when we were feeding one of the bulls was hanging around her continuously. He never mounted her and the other bull was off eating. Is this a sign that she really ISN'T bred or will a bull follow and chase a cow that is already bred? Thanks for taking the time to answer..

Debbie

 

[jkwilson]

I used to own a cow who the bulls would ride even when she was 6 months bred.

 

[novatech]

If the bull does not mount she is not in heat. She may have been in when you were not watching and is just going out. Or she could be just coming in. Or the bull was just checking her out. Or could be a false heat. Wright down the date and watch next time around. If she comes back in I would take her to the vet and have her checked, or the sale barn.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Novatech gave you some good advice I have had them go barren before no use feeding a worthless cow.

 

[Debbie Bullock]

Thanks JK and Novatech. We check our cow pastures at least every other day and we can't recall ever having seen a bull following a cow that we were SURE was bred. Glad to know they do that on occasion. Will keep a record and close eye on her. Appreciate the responses.

Debbie

 

[Debbie Bullock]

Yep, Caustic...we've had a few over the years that would miss having a calf. We'd give her one more chance. Never made it to a third but found a new home in the sale barn. Thanks.

Debbie

 

[dun]

Yep, Caustic...we've had a few over the years that would miss having a calf. We'd give her one more chance. Never made it to a third but found a new home in the sale barn. Thanks.

Debbie

That's where having the cows preg checked may be a cost up front but can be a real money saver in the long run.

 

[Debbie Bullock]

You're right, there. We've had only three or four that we wound up selling. Didn't matter to us whether she was pregnant or not after two years in a row of not having one. My husband rarely allows a second strike, let alone a third. Sometimes it's just circumstances that will cause a cow to not get bred..bulls doing more fighting than breeding, thus missing that cow...especially if she's a hard cow to breed in the first place, cow gets sick or wormy, all sorts of one-time things that can cause it. We had one last year that we took to the sale. She'd missed getting bred one year because we only had one bull in there with so many cows..we finally found another bull to add and she didn't get bred then , either. I'll accept the fault the first time but the second time there was no reason for it that I could see. Then we had a big cow that started walking the fence and 'bulling' across the road to the cows in that pasture. She absolutely stayed at the fence -wandering up and down, up and down. We had two bulls and actually saw them both trying to breed her but she would move away from them. .. looked like she was more interested in the cows across the way. Loaded her up and dumped her in the sale barn.

Anyways, apprciate the input.

 

[TexasBred]

Yep, Caustic...we've had a few over the years that would miss having a calf. We'd give her one more chance. Never made it to a third but found a new home in the sale barn. Thanks.

Debbie

I've seen "certain" individual cows allow the bull to actually mount and penetrate when she was 30-45 days away from calving. Doesn't happen all the time but does happen.

 

[Debbie Bullock]

Thanks for responding, TexasBred. I feel a lot better about her now. For some reason we just never saw any of our cows that were bred being chased by a bull-it was very disheartening to see one we thought wasn't going to produce this year. We were afraid she'd lost it. ('Course, she STILL might not be bred) Appreciate all the positive responses here.

Debbie

 

[jcarkie]

cattle will jump up on each other from time to time, it is a form of dominance, if they are in heat they are more persistant. we preg check because i can't afford to feed a cow that is open, it pays off knowing. if they don't have a calf every 12 months they are costing you too much. the only exception is if it is my fault, i will move them to the next breeding season one time if they are first calf heifers. we have spring and fall groups. my cattle are my employees not my pets, do your job or you are fired

 

[TexasBred]

cattle will jump up on each other from time to time, it is a form of dominance, if they are in heat they are more persistant. we preg check because i can't afford to feed a cow that is open, it pays off knowing. if they don't have a calf every 12 months they are costing you too much. the only exception is if it is my fault, i will move them to the next breeding season one time if they are first calf heifers. we have spring and fall groups. my cattle are my employees not my pets, do your job or you are fired

Good thing we employers don't get culled for not producing. Might be open range again. :lol:

 

[Debbie Bullock]

We have similar 'rules'. If it's our fault for some reason, we'll give the cow one more chance. This cow should be having her second calf. She had no problems last year. She should be calving within the next few weeks (we free range ours so dont' actually have records of breed dates). Husband was shocked because he says she LOOKs pregnant and he remembered her being chased by both bulls. I think perhaps she is, but will have to wait a bit to see. If she's not, then off to the sale barn she goes.

Thanks!

Debbie

 

[mnmtranching]

When bulls are running with bred cows, they will be trying to ride, sniffing and following cows around. Funny you haven't noticed more of this. I wouldn't worry about it unless the cow stands for the bull. Usually a cow in heat will gather a lot of attention, from other cows and certainly from every bull in the pasture.