Fertility in calves

[Tremewan]

Hello, I have 6 x 8month old calves, have been weaned about 6 weeks. One of the calves is a bull calf, who I have high hopes for, the rest are a mixture of steers and heifers. But I'm thinking he could be fertile quite soon...and I don't want him to get any of my young heifer calves pregnant. Am I on the cusp of this being an issue or is it more when they get beyond 10months?
thanks

[nuttalls]

hello, yes its an issue, if he,s the 8 month I would take him away asap, some dexters breed at very early age, wehad one years ago served and calved at 15months omg couldn,t believe,lucky all was well. good luck jean

[Buryhill Dexters]

I would suggest that you should be concerned about and doing something about it now, bull calves can become fertile at 5 or 6 months !

A while ago I had a bunch of Hereford & Angus cross heifers which miraculously got in calf a couple of months before they were put to the Hereford bull and the only bull anywhere near them at that time was a 5 month old Dexter who didn't look anywhere near big enough to serve them, so I would suggest you may already be to late !

It would definitely be a good idea to separate the bull calf now and estrumate (inject to abort) them now to reduce the risk of any teenage pregnancies.

Barry

[Tremewan]

Thank you. I've seen absolutely no activity, in the last 3-4 months of any of the heifers looking remotely interested in anything but spring grass and sleeping in the sun, the bull calf also, but I shall heed advice and separate. The difficulty I have is leaving the poor boy on his own. The easiest solution would be to put him with the cows who've just been AI'd, but his mum is there and I dont know for sure that she's taken. Tricky.

[SteveM]

you could be in trouble from both scenarios, heifers will be old enough to get in calf, and bull calf will be old enough to get them in calf.

we have a short legged cow yet to calve that must be in calf the one of two bull calves she was running with last year as the dates gone by for her to be in calf to the bull we had hired in

[Tremewan]

thanks Steve, how old we're the bull calves she was running with?

[Duncan MacIntyre]

Maybe the bull could be left with one or two steers as company, or run with an older bull, or confirmed in calf cows as long as they do not have heifer calves at foot

Duncan

[Tremewan]

thanks Duncan, yes I'm going to divide up the field with electric fence, and put the 4 older steers and bull calf on one side and the 8 month old heifers and steers on the other side. I'd like to put them in a different field but it'll mean loss of second cut and both fields getting over grown. Just hope they will show the same deference to the electric fence as their mothers do!!!

Will also consult the vet about estrumate.