Is she pregnant??? Your opinion..

queenspromise · #1 07/11/13, 01:44 AM

Hi there .. I am a newbie to cows and this forum.. Hoping you can help me. So the story goes: I bought a Brown Swiss X Milking Short Horn just a few days ago. The owner told me she was a dairy 4H project and showed me pictures.. She was bred and had her calf... Which was weaned in Dec and he purchased her. He was milking her from time of purchase till about 1 month ago where he dried her up. His home sold and he put her up for sale as he is an older gentleman and was going on an extended vacation and didn't want to have to find someone to look after her etc. He also said she is due to have her calf Aug 6 and that is also the other reason he was selling as he wouldn't be around if there was trouble or milk... She is 4 years old her last calf was weaned in Dec and she is due Aug 6... To me her udder doesn't look very full or developed.. And I would think her abdomen would be a lot larger if she was pregnant. I have tried e mailing the old owner as I took his word she was pregnant but never specifically asked if she was preg checked and confirmed. Also when I asked what she was bred to he said the old owners to him had a PB Brown Swiss and a Holstein Bull so could be either.. So it was obviously not seen therefore that raises questions... Here are her pictures... She would be due to calf in a little less then a month if this all true... Thank you

queenspromise · #2 07/11/13, 01:45 AM

Won t load pictures..

Ironbutt · #3 07/11/13, 06:39 AM

If you know someone with a ultra sound device they can check her , or call your vet. Or he can do a anal exam and confirm pregancy. The udder doesn't always swell up before birth, sometimes it starts during the birthing, sometimes within 6 hours of shedding of afterbirth.

Jennifer L. · #4 07/11/13, 06:54 AM

If she is due in a month you can "bump" her on the right side with your fist and you'll feel the calf's head (hard lump) move away from your hand. Just make a fist, put it on the cow's side and push in quickly. You aren't punching her, just pushing in against her. If the calf is there, you'll feel it if you try a couple of times. If she's a month away, the calf can't even move away from your hand (you can bump from about 5 months, and early on like that the calf can move away from your hand because it's small, so you have to make the first bump or two count, or else wait until the calf changes position again and moves into your hand's range). You don't need a vet to check a cow at her stage, even if you've never done it before.

Brown Swiss/shorthorn is probably a pretty big cow. They can hide a calf if you are just looking at her from frame size alone.

If a cow has freshened before, they bag up very fast just before the calf is due. You won't see udder development this far away from freshening on an older cow. First calf heifers take months to bag because they are building infrastructure that an older cow already has. If she is bred, you WANT that flat udder right now. Means there's been no mastitis going on, and shows a healthy udder.

Good luck with her.

Miss Kay · #5 07/11/13, 09:25 PM

Have no idea if she is pregnant but if she is, now's your time to get ready. Start feeding her where you intend to milk her and at the same time you intend to milk. Call her by her name to come into the barn (or where ever you will be milking) even if she is coming your way just so she gets used to responding to her name and comes when called. Get on a schedule so she will be into a routine. While she is eating, brush, scratch her and run your hand over her udder to get her used to you touching her there. If you are going to hand milk in a bucket, at some point start taking the bucket in so she can get used to it being under her belly while she eats. This pre-training will pay off big time once the calf arrives. Lots of people on here share milk but we prefer not to deal with catching a calf daily and locking it up (stressed both the calf and momma) so we remove it the first day and raise it on bottle. We actually enjoy that and it makes for a very sweet cow. Also, you will become like the calf to your cow so she will let down for you at milking time without worrying about her calf. But, there are plenty on here that love milk sharing so you'll just have to decide what you prefer.

queenspromise · #6 07/12/13, 10:27 AM

Thanks for the info... good idea in regards to getting her prepped and comfortable with me.. I tried the pushing on her right side... I thought I felt something about the 4th try of palpating...but then it was gone or maybe wishful thinking.. So I will try again tonight when the mosquitos are not bugging her so much and she is more willing to stand still. Another question... do you fly spray cows..Im a horse and goat person...my first cow.. But the flies and mosquitos are really bad where I live...My sons 4H steer doesn't seem bothered by them but the cow is driven insane it seems..

matt_man · #7 07/12/13, 01:03 PM

My cows don't usually even start to bag up until 2 weeks before they calve. Have you ever seen any mucous on her back side or does her vulva appear to be getting swollen? Not all cows get a big pot belly when they are heavily bred and some are huge and pot bellied all the time even when they aren't. IMO you can't go by the size of her belly.

CJBegins · #8 07/12/13, 01:59 PM

If you can catch her lying down and then feel her right side, the pressure of her lying down will push the calf right to the surface. It's a pretty cool feeling, really.

queenspromise · #9 07/12/13, 03:17 PM

I do catch her laying down every morning...I am her wake up call!! i will check that way. As for the mucous.. I did see a bit of mucous a few days after I purchased her...which is what go me thing, and trying to contact the previous owner to make sure she confirmed pregnant by avet... The mucous was just a little bit for such a big cow, it was just hanging from her vulva and not smeared all over her tail or anywhere else... and it was the only time I saw it. I have been checking multiple times a day. The other thing... was after a few days of introductions between the 4H steer and her... we let them out to graze with one another. The steer since we purchased him has been by himself... he started to push her around and tried to mount her.. But she got him off, and now she is the boss and he hasn't tried again from what I have seen. So I am not sure if it is a dominace behavior possibly??? Or what?? Which made me question even further IS she really pregnant. I am hoping so as we are really wanting the milk... and I picked her BECAUSE she was close to calving...and her price reflected that too..

G. Seddon · #10 07/12/13, 03:26 PM

If you're not sure she's pregnant, you could try Biopryn or have your vet check her:

http://www.biotracking.com/dairy

queenspromise · #11 07/13/13, 02:14 AM

Yaah!!! So tonight I went out and found the triangle spot the vet mentioned and palpated... I thought I could feel something... Calf or ??? But then there were a flurry of kicks and movements very obvious.. So a baby is on the way! Thanks for the advice and help !