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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2016 15:09:09 GMT
I have 16 years of sheep experience, but milk cows are a newer project for our farm. We've raised many dairy breed steers over the years for beef, but they are a whole different beast.
We have a 5 year old Jersey cow who has had 3 calves. She last calved in June 2015. She wasn't in the best condition last summer when we went to re-breed her so between that, a trip to Bulgaria, and bad timing on my part, she has not been bred back yet. We did breed her twice, but she didn't settle. I've been feeding her up and waiting for her to come back into naturally. 10 months into lactation, she's much fatter and is giving as much or more milk than she was at the beginning of lactation.
She finally came into heat a couple days ago. I marked the date that she should cycle again so that I am ready to call the AI guy. Any tips on getting her to settle? She's been dewormed recently and, at the vet's suggestion, was given a Mu-Se injection. She's going to be bred to a Red Angus, same as her calf last year.
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Post by shellymay on Mar 31, 2016 17:51:23 GMT
Tagging willowgirl She may be a good source of knowledge for you!
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Post by jupiter on Mar 31, 2016 19:57:54 GMT
Make sure she has plenty of free choice minerals & salt. Sometimes lack of minerals can affect breeding.
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Post by willowgirl on Apr 1, 2016 12:45:02 GMT
Here I am! I second the suggestion as far as minerals. Otherwise, don't let her get TOO fat ... fat cows seem to be more difficult to settle. One possibility that you might consider, if she's been bred multiple times with no result, is that she's cystic. www.hoards.com/12jan10-cystic-ovariesIf she's in good shape but still doesn't settle by the third or fourth round, you might get a vet to do a breeding exam, just to see what's going on in there. Good luck!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2016 20:12:57 GMT
Here I am! I second the suggestion as far as minerals. Otherwise, don't let her get TOO fat ... fat cows seem to be more difficult to settle. One possibility that you might consider, if she's been bred multiple times with no result, is that she's cystic. www.hoards.com/12jan10-cystic-ovariesIf she's in good shape but still doesn't settle by the third or fourth round, you might get a vet to do a breeding exam, just to see what's going on in there. Good luck! She's definitely not too fat. I still feel like she's under ideal weight, but compared to most of the dairy cows I've seen at other farms, she's in excellent condition. I am pretty sure that she didn't settle last year either because she wasn't in good enough shape OR I just wasn't timing things well (a strong possibility). I think I was catching her too close to the end of her cycle. I had the vet preg check her (was already pretty sure she didn't settle) back in January and he would have said if he found anything out of the ordinary. She settled quickly and easily last time around.
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Post by willowgirl on Apr 2, 2016 22:55:12 GMT
Yeah, timing is everything in this game, isn't it?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2016 19:25:47 GMT
How does her condition look to all the cow experts on here? I'd like her to be fatter, but I am more or less happy with her weight right now.
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Post by shellymay on Apr 14, 2016 22:06:28 GMT
I am no cow expert but I think she looks good
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Post by manygoatsnmore on Apr 15, 2016 3:56:23 GMT
She looks fine for a Jersey. Not too thin, and not too fat to breed.
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Post by feather on Apr 15, 2016 4:45:50 GMT
She looks fine for a Jersey. Not too thin, and not too fat to breed. That's exactly what my DH thinks of me, not too thin and not too fat to breed, yet we are well beyond our breeding ages. When I read the subject title I was quite interested but found out that it wasn't breeding advice for us it was breeding advice for other political types.
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