The girls didn't breed back and are still open

I can do that. I was going to pull the cow into a lower pasture but I could just pull the two biggest calves instead. AFTER I use the lower pasture to pull the cows off for the 28 hours. Gonna pull the cows tomorrow morning first thing.

Did you have your bulls tested before you put them out with the cows?

No, the older bull was only a calf when I put him in with them in 2010 and he got the job done then, thought he'd do it again in 2011. The younger bull was born to a different cow in the pasture with them in 2011 and still really a calf himself but I'm hoping he'll do the job the older bull didn't do.

I seperated the girls yesterday. Still seperated. They are angry and loud all night. Around 2 or 3 this afternoon I"ll pull them up, steal off some of that milk they are holding for us and put them back with the calves and the bull calf. I'll pull the two middle sized calves into the lower pasture to lower the demand on the cows then too. I'm still knocking around the idea of asking the vet for a shot of lute this morning to give them in the milk stand this afternoon.

Priced out mineral feeders, picked one that sets on the ground with a big peice of rubber over the top to keep the weather out. Cows lift the rubber matt to eat the minerals. Gonna grab it and a couple bags on minerals this morning. Any last minuite instructions on the type of minerals to buy?

Contact your vet or county extension agent and get a recommendation on the mineral mix for your area. Good minerals are not cheap, but a 50# bag should last a while. We use the type of feeder you describe; it works. When you first put it out, sprinkle a little bit of mineral on top of the rubber lid. They may eat quite a bit of first, but they will self regulate.

Get your bulls checked! I agree with the mineral and all the other advice, very important too, but you can have the best feed/mineral/BCS and if the bulls are no good it won't matter. Just because the bull bred them last year doesn't mean he is good this year. We have 1, that we used last year and he tested good, this spring he is absolutely no good at all....

13 months is definitely old enough, and since you say he has only been in there for a month, it is possible your cows ARE bred. Most vets can't tell until the pregnancy is at least 45 days along. So if your cows didn't cycle til toward the end of that month, they just might be bred and the fetus is just too small for the vet to find.

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Good thought! Also, vet might be able to ultrasound (I think around 30 days). Or you could send blood to Biopryn. Google it for instructions etc.

I didn't get the mineral feeder today. I tried, but its been a comedy of tradgedy around here lately. I discovered one of my tires bald to showing the wires and then couldn't get a tire. frustrating, but finally got it worked out and will have a new tires in the morning but dealing with that blew a huge chunk of the day and I didn't get the mineral feeder. I'll get it tomorrow.

I did zip by my vet and ask about lute, he said go ahead and give them a shot if they were less than 30 days bred well I'll be back a little, but if they were not this will help bring them in. So I got a couple shots of lute. Finally got home, got the girls into the milk stand (I don't usually milk them but I figured why not with all that extra on them I deserve a dairy treat). Bessie no trouble and she let me have 2 gallons. I could tell she was holding back, but 2 gallons was enough for me. Boss was a freak as usual. She was fine with the milker but she freaked out about my friend Carol (who she has always known) and would not let Carol near her. She fell down in the milk stand (she is the same one that fell earlier this year and had me calling the vet in a panic) but then she got up and seemed fine. Until I gave her the lute shot, at which time you'd think I"d shot the cow with a rifle. Front legs collapsed, drama queen is dying. I really don't know if something is wrong with Boss or if she is a drama queen. She also eats weird when I give her pellet food. She picks it up eagerly and then lets almost all of it dribble out of her mouth. I don't know. But I got a gallon off her and took the milker off. She was clearly worried about where Carol was and I was worried she would fall out in the milk stand again (it was built for a cow pulling or pushing to get out, not for a cow falling and down and thrashing around.

So once I got a little milk off both girls and gave them a lute shot I used them to lure the calves in for vaccines and moved the two bigger steer calves to the lower pasture. The Bull Calf is definately in LOVE with Bessie right now. Right in her rear pocket, but the only mounting observed was one steer calf on the other!

I'll keep watching and updating.
And I'll get that mineral feeder

I think you were , working aganist yourself by milking them ...you wanted the cow to feel she lost her calf and needs to replace it by coming into heat the longer she will go with be milked the better her body will think that

hhhmmmm
Well that sucks.
They did go approximately 30 hours before I milked them. But if I didn't milk them those calves were gonna as soon as I put them back in the upper pasture. I did give them the lute shots as well. Yesterday when I put them together the bull calf was interested in one girl but today he is pretty normal again.

I did get the mineral feeder today. Gotta get it put out still but I did buy it and the minerals. The minerals that were recommended they said I couldn't have the horses in the pasture with them so I got trace mineral salt, that's what they said to do as a second choice.

Cheryl SORRY I missed this part of your post or forgot they were seprated

I seperated the girls yesterday. Still seperated


if you waited 30 hours that should work ... but do not give the lute if you seprate next month

cool, thanks!
I REALLY appreciate all the help I"m getting with this thank you so much!

The gentleman who bought the older bull and the other cow called me yesterday to let me know the cow had a beautiful heifer yesterday. So the bull was working, it had to be my two girls not co-operating. Hopefully all this mess will get them going!

But if they did get pregnant last month the Lute will abort the fetus.
I would do the blood test preg check first.