bulling

happy hollidays · Post by **happy hollidays** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 11:42 pm

We have a 5 year old cow, who was very loud when bulling. She was aggy with the other two and always mounting the heifer or being mounted. She had 28 day cycles. She was served by the AI man on 31/10. Our middle heifer was much more subtle when it came to bulling and was on the standard 21 day cycle. She was served on 9/11. The cow choked two weeks after being served and ended up with minor bloat (7 hours later I eventually got to eat my dinner) We are now experiencing a very small scale bulling every 17 days. They mount each other, but for only a very short time and that is it. My gut reaction was that the cow probably lost her egg due to the choking. Is it possible that if they were pregnant they may still show slight signs of bulling? We are not in any hurry to have them served again, because of the time of year they would calf in. It would be interesting to know what these girls are capable of. I haven't checked for swelling of the vulva on this day 17 but I will look at both of them when it occurs next. Any comments would be most grateful, thanks.

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 12:09 am

If you don't want to serve them this time of year then I don't suppose there is any great rush to find out if they are in calf or not, but if you leave them and they turn out not in calf then they will have a long (happy??) holiday, which I do not think is good for a cow - more likely to have difficult calvings, get too fat, problems after calving etc, and sometimes not too easy to get in calf if left too long either. I would suggest if cost is not too serious an issue you should get your vet or an ultrsound scanner to check them. Your AI man will know if there are scanning services other than your vet in your area.

Cows do sometimes behave as though in season even though they are in calf, but it is not very common. You are probably more likely to see odd mountings etc if they are inside rather than out.

Duncan

happy hollidays · Post by **happy hollidays** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 12:15 am

Duncan, thanks for your reply. If only you lived around the corner.......My one cattle book doesn't really cover bulling other than the bulk basics. Do the cows cycle change with the shorter daylight hours at all? I'm not 100% as to why the 5yr old is bulling so differently now. She is like another animal, she is completely the opposite . I have read about the mid cycle, but I don't think that she is doing that either. I'm happy?!(if a woman could ever be happy!!!!)that the heifer is pregnant. I thought that the cows may have all sorts of weird pregnancy querks. I'm a bit of a dippy one and not really into Dexters as a business, more a hobby. They came home to protect the lambs from the foxes, eat the grass and because we could have them. A lot of you will probably be raising your eyebrows right now, but each to their own I say. You only get one life and at least I can say I've done that, brought the kids up in a lovely way and enjoyed my cows. They are pets, my husband has an extremely stressful job and the girls are his stressbusters.

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:12 am

Hello Happy Hollidays,

nothing wrong with having Dexters as stress busters. That to a great extent is what mine are. I first got a Dexter cow to bring up the family as I had been brought up drinking fresh milk ad lib. We looked at goats but fortunately saw Dexters at the Royal Show at stoneleigh in 1984 and the search for a dexter cow began. We finally got one in 1986 and the Burnside herd began.

The one simple fact to retain on heat detection in cattle is that the one underneath is the one in season. It does not matter how much effort is expended in mounting the other animal, the one being mounted, and importantly standing to be mounted, is the one in season.

In winter cows do show signs of season for a shorter time, probably both for nutritional and for true seasonal reasons - ie less daylight. It is also more difficult for us to spot them if there is not so much daylight. I am not aware that the lenght of cycle for an individual cow would vary with the time of year, so cant really answer that one.

Duncan

happy hollidays · Post by **happy hollidays** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 11:06 pm

Many thanks Duncan. I was pretty sure that it was the one underneath scenario. We have goats, my daughters xmas present last year. She choose two pygmy neutered males. They are lovely natured and very good to handle, but born from the devil - more trouble than 4 dogs, the cows,sheep,pigs etc put together!!! We keep threatening to put them into kebabs, but they don't seem to understand that threat. I take my hat off to the goat farmers of the world.

Minnie · Post by **Minnie** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 5:13 am

Hi all,

It's my first post and I'm new to Dexters (had two heifers for 6 months).

I through the posts and found this was almost a query I had, albeit a tad different.

I'm in Australia (Northern NSW, so sub-tropical).

When we bought out girls (first week of August 2006 end of winter) there was no guarantee they were in calf, they were born Feb and Apr 2005.

We didn't notice any bulling and thought they were in calf (big sigh of relief, neighbouring properties have brahman and tuli bulls).

In Oct I noticed the eldest ones bag grew to sit into my cupped hand and it was thought she was springing. We can't get any real answer about when she was with a bull from the previous owner.

At this time the smaller one started bulling (very obvious, mucous, bellowing, mounting by the old one). We had her AIed by the Dairy Farmer up the road and then next month (21 days each time) she wasn't bulling.

Early Jan the older one was mounting her again but there were no signs of mucous etc, although the older one on top seem to have a swollen vulva.

Two days later the older one had a show of blood and mucous, and then seemed okay couldn't find any sign of aborting (both long legged animals). I was told this could happen at 7 months and it was nothing to worry about now today...

The older one is trying to mount the one AIed (she's not letting her, she's not well 3 day fever) and bellowing like crazy although she's not showing any signs around the vulva.

I'm very confused... if the one underneath is the one bulling than the AI didn't take, but if the bellowing one is mounting and the underneath one isn't interested why has she developed the springing bag.

Does this make sense to anyone??

Thanks

Vicki

happy hollidays · Post by **happy hollidays** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 8:22 pm

Hi Vicki
I am not going to try to answer your posting, but I would like to say I feel for you. My older cow has just bulled properly for the first time since October. I am pleased that she is back to normal and it is a mystery as to the weeks inbetween the two dates. I guess it comes down to experience over the years. I would be interested about the bleeding and it not being a problem. I wish you all the best with your girls, I'm sure you'll get the help needed. My daughter's nickname is Minnie by the way.

Minnie · Post by **Minnie** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 12:30 am

Hi Happy Hollidays,

It's certainly a mystery (the bleeding), I thought maybe some sort of Dexter behaviour... time will tell no doubt.

We're thinking maybe a preg test by the Vet, it's expensive for the Vet to travel out to us which is why we haven't done this before. As well we need to get a decent crush in place.

If she's not in calf I may have to wait a few months as calving in the heat of summer isn't such a great idea, better winter here in our frost free zone.

Will let you know if/when I find out anything of interest.

Many thanks for your responce.

Regards

Vicki
PS Minnie Mae is the name I called myself as a little girl and consequently had a business name the same some years back

wagra dexters · Post by **wagra dexters** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:45 am

Minnie, I feel I have had too much to say on the discussion board but need to ask, you do know that heifers often, and cows occasionally, will have a show of blood after being in season?
You picked a bad year to start a herd. Many down here are having trouble with cows either not cycling, not going in, or if so, not holding. Did you get any of that good rain?

Minnie · Post by **Minnie** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 5:32 am

Hi Wagra,

I rang the person we got them from and were told that sometimes they have a show of blood (it wasn't a lot and next thing she was up eating and we couldn't find any sign of aborting). I had something to do with cattle nearly 30 years ago with my Mum (who wasn't at home at the time) and hadn't heard of it so assumed it was maybe a Dexter thing??

We've been sooo lucky the last 12 months wonderful rain and it's green and lush mind you we'll be in drought again before long no doubt.

SE Queensland (like Victoria) is having a terrible time and we're looking to buy 3 more heifers and then that's it for our small farm and a couple of bits of extra land adjoining we can use... it's always good to remember the dry times, then we don't get carried away in the green lush times.

It feels like we're the only place in Australia that had heaps of rain.

Regards

Vicki

Sylvia · Post by **Sylvia** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 10:13 am

Happy Holidays, I've had 32 years with Pygmy goats, 13 with alpacas, 6 with Shetland sheep and Dexters and we've even got a few angoras ........ so if my postings sometimes seem to be nudging towards insanity you now know why :p

happy hollidays · Post by **happy hollidays** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 9:45 pm

Sylvia, I take my hat off to you ..... Estelle

Minnie · Post by **Minnie** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 10:43 pm

Hi Wagra,

Just reread your post, heat must have got to me yesterday... I read what you said differently.

And no I didn't know that after a cycle they can have a show of blood. So it looks like the heifer we thought in calf isn't!

We'll need to watch her carefully to AI because she not as obvious as the other one that's for sure and I don't want calfing in the really hot months up here.

Many thanks for your information.

Regards

Vicki

wagra dexters · Post by **wagra dexters** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 2:14 am

Vicki,
Please, feel free to call me Margaret. Wagra is the name of the wind through the hills here, that warned the Aborigines to head for the coast before the snow came.
No, the blood show is not unique to Dexters, and becomes a lot more obvious when a person spends the whole season looking at the back ends of a 25 strong AI mob. Dexters can make good sized dust bowls also.
Margaret.

Minnie · Post by **Minnie** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 3:58 am

Hi Margaret,

I do know that feeling of spending an inordinate amount of time looking at the backend of a cow, I feel I say continually to my husband 'look at her twot how does it look to you' :laugh:

I figure now that she was never in calf and that her bag has just changed due to maturity. I'll watch at the end of the month closely and hopefully have the semen I want for her ready at the dairy.

She's certainly different from the other one that was 'classic' lots of jumping, bellowing (in fact running to the fence for the Tuli bull next door... took a couple of hours to get her in and away from him), heavy mucous, beady sweaty nose... but this one different all together.

Thank you so much for your advice it's really appreciated.

Regards

Vicki