Post by tamarhead on Feb 5, 2024 14:07:12 GMT -5
Good morning!
We're past due to have our Jersey, Daisy, bred. She calved in Winter of 2022/2023, and we're still milking her. We need to take her to visit our friends' bull soon, but I'd like to make it a relatively short trip, since we're still milking. I'm struggling to figure out when her fertile window is.
She was showing general signs of heat 1/22-1/25, which I'll chronicle below. I'm not sure where in that window she's able to be bred. If any of you all with more experience can help me narrow it down, I'd be grateful! 💜
So, she typically gives about 1.75 gallons per milking right now. I started keeping an eye on her rear about a week and a half beforehand. The first change I noticed was Monday, 1/22. Both Monday and Tuesday, she seemed to have a bit of clear discharge. (Of course, she's covered in poop and she wouldn't let me clean her up, so it's a little hard to see.) Her milk output was the same as usual, 1.75.
Then Wednesday, 1/24, she dropped to 1 gallon and her rear looked so different, almost like her anus was sunken in, and her lady bits were smooth, no wrinkles. No discharge, though.
Thursday, 1/25, she was back to 1.5 gallons and she looked much more normal, but she also had much more noticeable, egg-whitey discharge. It was dripping down several inches from her bits.
She was a little more feisty than usual Monday/Tuesday, that I noticed. But I might have just missed seeing her the other days. She's extremely mellow. I've never seen her mount her heifer or be mounted. When she looked feisty to me, she was kind of bouncing around a bit and putting her horns down at her heifer. She pretty much never makes any noise (unlike her loud little heifer).
Given the drop in production Wednesday, I would think that was her fertile day? But then the discharge Thursday makes me think Thursday, potentially. Do you know how the drop in production correlates with your cow's fertility? Does it seem like discharge is the primary indicator?
Friday, 1/26, I saw a bit of blood under her tail and on her bits, which continued for several days (or at least didn't get cleaned off her tail for several days).
I just feel like in all my reading, I've gotten such conflicting info about when the cow is actually fertile. A lot of these are listed as signs, but she didn't have them all right at once. Without a bull on the property to watch how she interacts, I don't know how to figure this out.
Any thoughts you all have would be very appreciated. 😉
Thank you,
Tamar
We're past due to have our Jersey, Daisy, bred. She calved in Winter of 2022/2023, and we're still milking her. We need to take her to visit our friends' bull soon, but I'd like to make it a relatively short trip, since we're still milking. I'm struggling to figure out when her fertile window is.
She was showing general signs of heat 1/22-1/25, which I'll chronicle below. I'm not sure where in that window she's able to be bred. If any of you all with more experience can help me narrow it down, I'd be grateful! 💜
So, she typically gives about 1.75 gallons per milking right now. I started keeping an eye on her rear about a week and a half beforehand. The first change I noticed was Monday, 1/22. Both Monday and Tuesday, she seemed to have a bit of clear discharge. (Of course, she's covered in poop and she wouldn't let me clean her up, so it's a little hard to see.) Her milk output was the same as usual, 1.75.
Then Wednesday, 1/24, she dropped to 1 gallon and her rear looked so different, almost like her anus was sunken in, and her lady bits were smooth, no wrinkles. No discharge, though.
Thursday, 1/25, she was back to 1.5 gallons and she looked much more normal, but she also had much more noticeable, egg-whitey discharge. It was dripping down several inches from her bits.
She was a little more feisty than usual Monday/Tuesday, that I noticed. But I might have just missed seeing her the other days. She's extremely mellow. I've never seen her mount her heifer or be mounted. When she looked feisty to me, she was kind of bouncing around a bit and putting her horns down at her heifer. She pretty much never makes any noise (unlike her loud little heifer).
Given the drop in production Wednesday, I would think that was her fertile day? But then the discharge Thursday makes me think Thursday, potentially. Do you know how the drop in production correlates with your cow's fertility? Does it seem like discharge is the primary indicator?
Friday, 1/26, I saw a bit of blood under her tail and on her bits, which continued for several days (or at least didn't get cleaned off her tail for several days).
I just feel like in all my reading, I've gotten such conflicting info about when the cow is actually fertile. A lot of these are listed as signs, but she didn't have them all right at once. Without a bull on the property to watch how she interacts, I don't know how to figure this out.
Any thoughts you all have would be very appreciated. 😉
Thank you,
Tamar