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Guys I have a problem

MN Farm Girl

Well-known member
I have a show heifer that we AIed and she was only bred for 60 days. That's all the longer she stayed bred. Then we put her out with the bull and she settled for 60 days. We don't know what's going on with her. The vets have checked her out and she is okay on the inside. But it seems that 60 days is her favorite number. She isn't over weight. She is perfect shape for breeding and she doesn't stay settled. Can you guys help me. I don't know whats going on and I was wondering if you guys had any helpful insight. We don't want to sell her #1) because she is my heifer and my favorite, and #2) is a real good heifer. We don't want to ship her but if we can't get a calf to stay in her well she'll have to go.

MN Farm Girl
 

per

Well-known member
Sounds a little harsh but your choices are "keep her as a pet", maybe teach her some cute tricks or "sell her". The most important function of a cow is being able to have a calf every year on time. Pretty is the function of a pet if that criteria can't be met.
 

Les

Well-known member
Maybe she is like some humans that misscarry a few times then things work out ok after that and they have babies..If no one has a problem keeping her around and feeding her, I say keep trying things might work out next time or the time after.
 

Shorthornguy

Well-known member
Don't give up just yet.....Sometimes cattle will not breed outside the normal weather pattern. Like deer cattle normally calve mid March to Mid May. Try letting her with yhe bull 1st of July on. No extra feed...pasture only. Then if she doesn't settle you will have to find a replacement. Good Luck
 

Shorthornguy

Well-known member
Don't give up just yet.....Sometimes cattle will not breed outside the normal weather pattern. Like deer cattle normally calve mid March to Mid May. Try letting her with yhe bull 1st of July on. No extra feed...pasture only. Then if she doesn't settle you will have to find a replacement. Good Luck
 

rancherfred

Well-known member
I don't know what constitutes a good heifer in your book, but if you had her AIed and then natural serviced and she didn't keep either I would have a hard time calling her a good heifer. The most important part of any brood cow is her reproductive tract and if that isn't working right there isn't much point in keeping her unless you want her as a pet. The absolute worst thing you can do is introduce into your herd an animal that has low fertility. If you ever do get her to stick, don't ever keep a calf out of her in your herd.

Our operation never gives heifers a second chance, if they don't get pregnant in their first breeding season they are gone. We just can't afford to keep a cow in the herd that isn't producing.
 

CattleArmy

Well-known member
rancherfred said:
Our operation never gives heifers a second chance, if they don't get pregnant in their first breeding season they are gone. We just can't afford to keep a cow in the herd that isn't producing.

That's how we are to with our herd. However, just having kinda gotten our feet wet a little with showing I know this is a totally different situation. For most show cattle aren't profit makers. They get fed the best and more then a person would a commercial heifer plus hauling to shows isn't a money maker either. Personally I view show cattle more as an advertisement for your product. With gas, meals, and rooms if it's away it eats money. Plus it just gets in your blood kinda like roping another not so much profit maker for most.

Having said all that even if the heifer was super tame and showed well in the show ring I think after two times of her not settling it would be time to consider giving up. Looking for another heifer and putting money and resources into a heifer that will produce a quality calf.
 

MN Farm Girl

Well-known member
Well when she went to county fair she wasn't fed to put on condition, but keep her in shape for breeding. She was never fed to be fattened for show. All she ever got was oats. We aren't just keeping her around because she was a show heifer, but dad doesn't want to hurt me, and he is attached to her. I guess I get a little too involved with the cows. It is hard, we don't know what is going on. The vets say that she okay inside, and there shouldn't be a problem. Do you guys know why she would stay settled for 60 days then drop the calf?

MN Farm Girl
 

kolanuraven

Well-known member
Hey...what's one more pet? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

If you REALLY REALLY like her...don't make a snap decision.

It's coming spring/summer....she'll be easy kept then w/o much feed....so I'd just hide and watch!
 

rancherfred

Well-known member
If the vets have checked out the cow and there is nothing physiologically wrong with her that they can detect, then I might start thinking embryonic death. That can occur for any number of reasons, but probably the most common would be a genetic problem that causes the fetus to abort. If that is the case then you don't want to force the issue. The other thing might be a problem with implantation. Perhaps her uterus isn't accepting the embryo like it should and the placenta isn't firmly attached.

Something you might try is Banamine. We have been told a couple of times that if you have to handle an early pregnancy cow, as in hauling or working through the chute, give them a shot of Banamine and it will help to maintain the pregnancy. It might help, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Twice bred, 60 days to abortion each time, sorry that just doesn't sound like a good prospect for brood cow to me.
 

MN Farm Girl

Well-known member
Thanks for the help. After she was bred we were gonna give her a shot of Sisterella. We didn't get do it because there were other things going on and it got forgotten. Though we should have taken time and given it to her. But we didn't. roll: (Sp?) They say that is supposed to help them drop the egg. We gave it to the other heifer and she didn't stay settle either. I think we are gonna have the vets give her a thorough examination, and then make the decision.
 

Turkey Track Bar

Well-known member
MN Farm Girl....

What type of herd health protocol do you have?

It is not uncommon for heifers to be bred, then taken to a show and slough their calves. Happens a lot! But for both of your heifers to be open, especially after being bred twice, I might be more concerned.

Depending upon what type of herd health plan you have in place, I'd ask your vet about some common diseases including IBR, Vibrio, Lepto, and BVD.

Did your Vet. prescribe Cystorelin for you to use on your heifers? It's a prescription product that is labeled for use in cattle with cystic ovaries. Typical signs of cystic ovaries are cattle that don't come into heat, or those who are in persistent heat. Here is a label for the product.

http://merialusa.naccvp.com/view.php?prodnum=1111008

I hope whatever you decide turns out for the best. I am a big ol' softie, but have also had to get rid of open livestock...it's a fact of life, as unpleasant as it may be. Just think, in the long run you might be saving yourself a lot of headaches, nightmares, and $$$$.

Good luck,

TTB :wink:
 

MN Farm Girl

Well-known member
Thanks TTB. That helps. The vet didn't give her anything, and she wasn't bred when she got to the fair. We bred her afterward. We're going to get the vet to really check her out inside then decide, but I hope that'll come out good.
 

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