Gay cows?!

[boyd5212]

We have two Highland cows, ages 4 and 6, we believe them both to be pregnant. They are the only two cattle we have....and tonight we caught the old girl mounting the younger one. Is this even close to being normal?!

[dosthouhavemilk]

Sounds like she is in heat and not pregnant. How close to calving are they? The hormones associated with the late stages of pregnancy can also trigger this behavior as well.

[suburbanite]

In dogs, mounting is a sign of dominance as much as sex. Could that be part of the behavior in cows?

[JeffNY]

Calves, Heifers, and Cows will mount regardless sometimes. Usually the one being mounted runs though. If she stands there, she is in a standing heat. Completely normal to have this. What is abnormal is a bull mounting another bull.



Jeff

[unioncreek]

Did you AI your cows? The only time I see this happen in mine is when I AI them. I asked a friend of mine who teaches AI at the local university and he called it false heat and not to worry. If your still concerned about them not being bred find someone to preg test them.

Bobg

[commomsense]

Originally Posted by suburbanite

In dogs, mounting is a sign of dominance as much as sex. Could that be part of the behavior in cows?

NO.


Something is up.They may not be pregnant.The one shouldn't be standing still if she's pregnant and the other shouldn't be wanting to mount.Get a pregnancy test to make sure.

[JeffNY]

Originally Posted by commomsense

NO.


Something is up.They may not be pregnant.The one shouldn't be standing still if she's pregnant and the other shouldn't be wanting to mount.Get a pregnancy test to make sure.

Cows will jump to show dominance. I have seen this with heifers, 6 month old heifers, it is both dominance and she is playing. With cows I have seen this with someone new in the herd. These are with bred animals.



Jeff

[peacemaker]

I agree with the post from commonsence.
I've alway's heard the same thing. Have them double checked to be sure.
Could be dominance or playing also but it's common with a cow in heat.

[Yldrosie]

In answer to the original question, Bulls may have trouble with their sexual orientation if they have spent a long time as youngsters with nothing but other bull calves. When on the ranch, if we bought a bunch of 2 or 3 year old bulls, we'd have to be really careful to spread them way apart from each other. And sometimes, they would find their way back to each other. Didn't happen often, but did happen. Those would go off to the killers, no good for cows.