reasons for infertility

gwithrow · #1 11/03/10, 02:49 PM

we have a cow, about 6 years old, she has had three great pregnancies, delivered and raised 4 nice calves....one time she delivered twin heifers....but no calf since fall of 08.....she has been with three bulls, one maybe too old.....one maybe too young, though he did produce one nice heifer a month ago( different cow)....and two months ago I ran a nice bigger, experienced bull in with the ladies for 6 weeks.....I would like to have kept him longer but his owner needed him.....I was hoping that he could take care of anyone that the young smaller bull may have missed....

for the past two days this same big girl is acting like she is in heat....I am not happy.....

there is also another big cow who has not had a calf since fall 08......exposed to the same bulls.....she is a little younger and has successfully raised two calves....

what could be wrong? these are big healthy looking cows....slick and able bodied....not too fat

when I had both of these checked by the vet last Christmas he said that while they were both open, both seemed fine...he didn't detect any issues...so we proceeded with bull plan A, and then bull B.......in case .....

I suppose I will have to get the vet out here again to be sure that I am not going to be looking for calves......a different cow that had a calf in Feb, may be bred...have to wait and see....and the heifers should be bred....they are wait and see as well

so I am asking for thoughts about what could cause such poor fertility in these two cows?....does a bred cow ever exhibit 'heat' behavior? ie: mounting ??

Karin L · #2 11/03/10, 03:57 PM

Have those bulls ever been semen tested at all? I was thinking cystic ovaries, but it could be the bulls that are the ones that are infertile and are throwing blanks instead of getting these two girls settled.

gwithrow · #3 11/03/10, 04:29 PM

it was the general opinion that bull A, older and slow moving, was perhaps....past his prime...he did produce a nice calf....one...out of 6...cows that were with him at that time....

Bull B...was young, and ummm short...these girls are tall...however he also has sired a nice heifer now a month old...that cow is slightly smaller than the two I am concerned with..... and in his defense I certainly observed effort on his part with the taller ladies....

Bull C, mr. clean up man, it is too soon to tell....since he was here in August and Sept.....

so I suppose we could have two of the four with cystic ovaries....can that be detected by a vet? or tested for? or do we just cull and move on?

l have another cow, who had a very nice calf in Feb.2010....by a neighbors bull who jumped the fence.......the old fellow didn't do it for her.........
this cow could now be settled by the young bull, in which case she would have a calf probably not before Jan.....since her last calf was early Feb.....or perhaps by the clean up bull....in which case it will be awhile....I can see if I want to really know who is and who is not, the vet will need to come out....

I would like to know what would cause two nice cows to drop out of the program?

Allen W · #4 11/03/10, 06:12 PM

too fat, bangs, lepto any number of reasons.

agmantoo · #5 11/03/10, 09:03 PM

gwithrow

Though I have not seen your animals but having met you I am confident that your animals are well cared for. Lack of groceries are usually the biggest contributor for cows not to cycle or to successfully conceive. We can rule that out it your case. I would think the problem is with the cow. Rather than spend the money on the vet, I would send her to market and get a replacement heifer with the saved vet money and the sale proceeds. She had her chances. I never want a repeat offender when it comes to brood cows having issues.

gwithrow · #6 11/04/10, 06:46 AM

thanks, we will cull the non producers, but we are curious to know the 'why' part of the problem.....they are from good stock, and have been well cared for and vaccinated....and are not too old or fat...the bulls have produced at least to some degree.....I can believe the older bull was just too old, but the other two should have results .....so if no calves are forthcoming, we will look for a couple of nice replacement heifers...

is there a 'good' time of year to sell these girls? I am sure they won't bring a whole lot....but we would like to get as much as possible for them...