Who settled her?

willow_girl · #1 09/23/12, 12:05 AM

Last fall, I started breeding some cows on the farm where I work. Now, whenever one calves, I check the records to see whether I bred her or if my boss did.

#665 is a bit of a mystery! Our records show that I bred her on 11/29, which would have made her due date 9/7.

My boss bred her on what appeared to be a subsequent heat on 12/22, which would have made her due on 9/30.

She calved on 9/15. The heifer calf appeared to be full-term and was normal and healthy.

Adding to the mystery, we had another cow calf this month who had been bred on two subsequent heats, but apparently settled on the first breeding. (Poor girl didn't get a break! We were just about to dry her off when ... whoops!)

We don't use a clean-up bull, so in #665's case, it was one or the other breeding.

I told my boss we might just have to split this one down the middle!

Narshalla · #2 09/23/12, 03:23 AM

No clue who the father is, but I think she might have been talking with some goats, because this is certainly something that they'd do!

SpaceCadet12364 · #3 09/23/12, 06:46 AM

Going with the fact she is a she and heifers typically come early my money is on 12/22.

G. Seddon · #4 09/23/12, 07:48 AM

Willow_girl, I doubt you would want to do parentage genotyping to determine who the winner is, but that is an option. I'd place my money on you as it was only a week late and a heifer to boot!

Added: Didn't have my coffee yet...parentage testing would only work if you AI'd with different sires. Sorry! I'd still bet on you though.

willow_girl · #5 09/23/12, 09:45 AM

So we have one vote for each of us! I should have included a poll in this thread, LOL.

I'd have to check but there's a good chance we used the same bull. (We get recommendations from one of the semen companies we buy from.) Our cows aren't registered or anything, so it isn't really important -- I just thought it was an interesting situation.

#665 happens to be my boss' favorite cow, and one of my favorites as well. She is the biggest Holstein I've ever seen!

And, having been a tester, I've seen thousands. I call her "the Sideways Cow" because she has to stand diagonally across 2 spaces in the parallel parlor to be milked, and then we have to back her out because she's too wide to fit through the spaces. She is friendly, smarter than the average cow, and always in the last group to come into the parlor, and her daughters are carbon copies or her.

This is her 5th calf, and four out of the five have been heifers. Her oldest daughter washed out in her second lactation after a difficult calving; second daughter is in the milking string right now (in fact, she's my favorite); third daughter is still in the heifer barn, and now the new calf. So far, her daughters also have shown a propensity for having heifer calves. I told my boss that at the rate we're going, we're going to have a whole herd of oversized cows with interesting personalities. He grumbled, "Yeah, just what every dairy farmer wants .. "

myersfarm · #6 09/23/12, 10:40 AM

I vote a UFO did it

**gone-a-milkin** · #7 09/23/12, 10:46 AM

I have to cast my vote for your Farmer Boss this time. (sorry

)
She took on the 2nd breeding.

Glad you got your Sideways cow back on the line.

I have a springing heifer currently who wont stay with the little girls.
She is determined to be underfoot in the milk string.
Her mama is a favorite of mine and I am eagerly anticipating what this 3rd generation will throw.
We have the 'interesting personalities' in that particular bloodline along with very nice udder attachment (for Jersey esp).

downsized · #8 09/23/12, 03:15 PM

I'm new... what is a "springing heifer"? Thanks

willow_girl · #9 09/23/12, 04:48 PM

A springing heifer is one who is bred and will calve soon.