Crossing my fingers that this time.... - Getting a cow in-calf

Inger · Post by **Inger** » Tue Jan 18, 2005 11:06 am

Well Duncan, the cow that I have been hoping to get in calf for the last couple of years, has just been served, so now I just have to wait. I tried a different bull this year and I've been giving her cod liver oil on and off during the previous month. Hopefully it was often enough. As the cows live out in the paddocks here in New Zealand, it's a bit more difficult to get supplements into them. But she got used to eating out of a bucket for me, providing I kept all the other cows from stealing her food.

I think I might get the vet to scan her, just to check if she is pregnant. How many weeks should I wait before getting her scanned? I used a Bulling Beacon on her this year, to tell me when she was mated. The indicaters have been really useful in the herd. Picking up matings that usually go unnoticed. It's going to be much easier estimating when the cows are due to calve this year. As there'll be 17 cows calving, the help will be appreciated.

Sylvia · Post by **Sylvia** » Tue Jan 18, 2005 12:07 pm

What's a bulling beacon please, sounds interesting.

Inger · Post by **Inger** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 6:56 am

It's a cloth patch with an elongated bubble down the middle of it. One side of the patch has a very sticky adhesive which when dipped in very hot water, becomes quite tacky and you stick it along the tailbone of the cow. When the cow is mated, the bubble is pressed down on and this causes the bubble to be pierced inside, mixing two chemicals which turn bright red. Making it very easy to see when the cow has been served. I guess it works much like those light-sticks that you see people waving around at music concerts. There are a couple of different brands available here in NZ.

Sylvia · Post by **Sylvia** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 10:14 am

What a good idea, I wonder if they are available in the UK?

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 10:38 am

Certainly heat detectors of various sorts are available in UK, Kamar being one brand name . You can also use "Tail Paint" which is smeared on the same area and shows disturbance if mounting has taken place. Try your Vet or local AI man. (For supplies i mean)

Duncan

Inger · Post by **Inger** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 7:20 am

To up-date what's happening with our cow. The vet has vetted her in-calf, yeah, BUT, He estimated that she was six months pregnant. Which coincides with the neighbour's red Hereford bull jumping into our paddock. urgh!!! I spend years waiting for a calf from her and she ends up getting in-calf to a bull from the wrong breed!

At the time of the bull's visit, I wasn't worried, because I thought she was already pregnant. It turns out that one of our heifers (she'll be 2.5 yrs old by then) is also due at the same time. Presumably, also in-calf to the same bull. Am I correct in assuming it will be obvious, once the calves are born, that the father was a Hereford? The neighbours have now sold their land and the new owners don't own any animals. So we won't get a repeat, fortunately. Anyway, it seems all my extra effort of taking cod liver oil out to her each day, was not needed after all.

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 6:16 pm

I am glad the cow is in calaf - do not be too disappointed if it is a hereford, since it will be good just to get her functioning again as a cow should - that is having a calf avery year. Long holidays do not do them any good and she is better to have a cross calf than run any longer. Hopefully she will settle to the Dexter next time round. Make sure she is not getting too fat if she has had a long holiday as nothing is worse for difficult calvings.
A first hereford cross should be proudly sporting a white face, or at least very obvious white markings on face.
Duncan

Inger · Post by **Inger** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 2:15 am

Thanks for that Duncan. If it doesn't have a white face, I'll get the calf DNA'd and check if by some way our own bull was the sire. There's no chance of the cow getting too fat. It was her thinness which I think prevented her from cycling properly. She looks like a normal cow now, instead of a gaunt excuse for one. She's filled out, and it's actually difficult to tell her apart from the rest of the herd now. She used to stick out like a sore thumb and was rather an embarrassment to us. I just hope that when she and the heifer, calve in the middle of winter (for us in NZ), that we will have enough good nutritious grass to produce enough milk for their calves. Hopefully the paddocks we are sowing this Autumn, will be well enough established to handle being grazed during winter. At least I only have two cows calving then.

Kathy Millar · Post by **Kathy Millar** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 6:31 am

Duncan MacIntyre wrote:. You can also use "Tail Paint" which is smeared on the same area and shows disturbance if mounting has taken place. Try your Vet or local AI man. (For supplies i mean)

Duncan

I can see that Duncan is a vet with a sense of humour!

Kathy :D

Martin · Post by **Martin** » Fri Apr 01, 2005 12:34 pm

With some of the questions Duncan gets asked I should imagine a sense of humour to be very important. I know I keep my local vet amused when he visits me!
Martin

Inger · Post by **Inger** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 12:13 pm

It's nice to make your vets life a little lighter Martin, it probably gets a bit grim for vets some days, so a bit of laughter is a good thing I reckon.

Inger · Post by **Inger** » Mon May 02, 2005 12:10 pm

Another up-date Duncan. The cow in question presented us with a lovely sized heifer calf today. I wasn't expecting it until June or later as that was our vet's estimate last month, when He was doing the pregnancy testing. Anyway, the calf's lovely and strong and healthy. Black with white patches on her face and white down her tummy. Definitely half hereford. The cow shows strong maternal instincts and is very clean and tidy in the rear, after giving birth. So everything is working as it should.

So when I put our bull in with the cows at the end of the year, I expect everything to go according to plan. Especially since there is no longer a neighbour's bull to mess things up for me. :;):

PeterO · Post by **PeterO** » Mon May 02, 2005 1:20 pm

Ingar

To completely hijack the thread - a move to small holding in NZ is being planned for next year and I am trying to get some typical prices for Dexters in NZ - I tried e-mailing the 'for sale' contact on the NZ board but my e-mail failed. Would you mind either posting (or e-mailing) some typicalprices for purebred/registered Dexters? Are red and dun more expensive than black. Are they all dehorned/polled etc.

Thanks in advance

Peter