Here's that oh, so annoying question...

redgate · #1 09/23/13, 10:04 PM

Please forgive me, as we FINALLY took the plunge and this is our first year in cattle. I have 2 Lowline cows with 6 month old calves on their side and a Jersey heifer. All were bred by a Lowline bull. I witnessed it on one Lowline and the Jersey (and marked the date), but never witnessed a breeding or saw signs with the other Lowline. Therefore, I kept the bull for about 6 weeks, just to make sure. With only 3 girls, even one not settling is a big deal with a coming winter. Do I have to blood test to know, or are there signs of pregnancy early on? The Jersey is as tame and gentle as they come, so she would be no problem to test, but the Lowlines are both 5 year old range cows. They are now used to me to the point I can sneak a random scratch on their back, but I wouldn't look forward to trying to trap one in a stall to catch her and blood test her! That may be a good way to get my head knocked off!

**gone-a-milkin** · #2 09/24/13, 12:06 AM

Either they will come back into heat again or not.
Hopefully they will give you clear signals if they cycle back in.

With so many head and breeding for more,
you might really consider putting together some type of chute to work them in.
Eventually you will want to be able to vaccinate and things.

Good luck and I hope they all settled for you!

redgate · #3 09/24/13, 08:56 AM

I've seen no further signs of heat, so I am hopeful. We aren't breeding for more head of cattle, just for beef. We only have the 3 cows that are keepers. The two calves from this year will be going to butcher, and the calves next year will be the 2015 beef. We are planning to butcher on the young side, just to prevent carrying them two winters. We may wind up selling the 2 Lowline cows and going with just calves, but that is yet to be determined. We'll see how next spring plays out, and whether these girls friendly up any more.

Bret · #4 09/24/13, 10:04 AM

Do you have a vet? He/she can examine and detect a pregnancy at about 35 to 45 days. You could draw blood and send to a lab. I agree that you would need some sort of chute for that too. Good luck.