Trouble getting Dexter bred...

[Patt]

We have a 4-5 year old Dexter cow who has had 2 calves that we know of (we bought her with one and she had the other 8 months later).
She has regular heat cycles. We have a Highland bull who is almost 2. Back in Jan. we saw her go into heat and the bull do his business. No heat the next 2 cycles then the end of Feb she had one. Again saw the bull do his business. No heat cycles since then until yesterday. She had a strong heat cycle saw bull do his business.
Any idea what might be going on? We milk our cow every day so we keep a close eye on her. She gets beef mineral, she's on pasture plus Dairy ration when we milk. She's fat and shiny, she gets regular vaccinations and wormed every 6 months.
Patt

[myersfarm]

sometimes they just need a help would give her some antibotics give alot A D E in her feed if you are giving would get a bag and add more to it.......and then others just will not rebred and have to be sold........also would talk to a vet in your area...some times area have a different vitamin defecne in different areas.....john good luck

[Paula]

Maybe it's a problem with the bull, not the cow.

[Wanda]

Originally Posted by Paula

Maybe it's a problem with the bull, not the cow.

BINGO (s t d's)

[Patt]

We've had the bull since he was 6 months old, he's never been with any cow but ours. Also the herd he came from was scrupulously tested for any sort of health problems. What would cause you to think it's him when she seems to getting bred for 2-3 months?
Patt

[pygmywombat]

It sounds like the cow is aborting or reabsorbing the pregnancy early on. I would get her vet checked for endometritis or endometriosis. Our cow had endometritis and would cycle, settle, and then come into heat a week or two after her regular heat date had passed. Inflammation in the uterus wasn't allowing the fetus to attach.

[Carol K]

The other thing is, you said she was "fat and shiny", if she's overweight that's not a good start. Also ditto on getting the vet in to check her out,

Carol

[agmantoo]

More bulls than you realize are sterile or have low viable semen count.

[Patt]

She's not overweight she just looks healthy. We can still see a rib or two on each side.
She was checked by the Vet in March, he said her uterus felt fine and her ovary was expanding to ovulate. He didn't think there should be any problems with her getting bred.
If it is the bull it still wouldn't explain her going out of heat for 3 months would it? The vet said they usually wait until 2 yrs old on the Highlands to do a semen test.
To me it looks like she's probably losing them early on for some reason so I'm looking for ideas why she might.
Patt

[Paula]

We were guessing it might be the bull because the cow has proven she can reproduce, it doesn't sound like the bull has ever bred anything.
Also because you didn't have the cow preg. checked, you were just going on the visable signs of heat, there's no way to know if she was ever really bred. I had a Jersey who acted like your cow, turned out she had cystic ovaries. Gave her a couple of shots and she's been fine since.
We can guess all day long but the best chance you have of really finding out what's going on is to have the vet check more thoroughly, maybe drawing blood and culturing her. There are some infectious things that cause abortion like lepto, brucellosis, and lots more. If you google it you'll find tons of info.

[Patt]

Thanks! We just don't have the money right now to haul her back in and get a load of tests done. I was hoping maybe someone knew of a mineral deficiency or maybe a weed that might cause abortion.

[wr]

Unfortunately Patt, there is just isn't enough information here to help you out and it really is something that needs to be seen by a vet. I would concentrate on the cow at this time because you seem to feel that she is catching but not staying bred. I realize that money is a concern for you right now but perhaps your vet will let you make payments.

[astrocow]

Paula
How did you find out your cow had cystic ovaries? was it from a blood test? what were the signs?

[dosthouhavemilk]

We have a heifer, Carina, who was cystic. She acted like a bull, was cycling every ten days and when the vet pregnancy checked her he told us she was cystic. We didn't treat her like we were told to, but we figured the bull would take care of it and she is due to calve in December.
An internal exa, performed by someone who knows what they are doing will usually be able to tell if an animal is cystic.