Post by Lisa on Oct 7, 2010 11:51:57 GMT -5
Hi! Been so busy with our new cows, haven't had time to be on the computer! But, being newbies, we're piling up questions.
1) We have a 3 y.o. Dexter cow, her 6 mo old steer calf, and a 1 yr old Dester heifer. The heifer may have been exposed before we got her, but we don't know if she's "with calf" or not. She's a royal pain in the butt, as she's one of those critters who just. will. not. respect the fence -- electric jolt or not. If she's not pregnant, we may sell her, or possibly put her in the freezer (though someone said we'd get better meat if we let her go longer or "finish" her first -- whatever that means...) If she is going to have a calf, though, we might suffer it through and keep her for the calf. Question is: How do we know if she's pregnant? Do we just watch to see if she goes into heat? (I worry that, being the raucus cow she is and us being new at this, we may miss it...) Is there a "pregnancy test" for cows? Like, catch some pee and put a test strip in it?? How do we know?
2) The 3 y.o. has weaned her calf pretty much herself, it would appear, as he no longer seems to be nursing. We've been very careful to be sure she has more than enough water and hay and supplement with a little grain every day, but she's been kept in the barn since we got her about 3 weeks ago -- because of the heifer's tendency to break through the fences. Could this be why she's dried up? Or could it be the stress of the move? Should we be worried? Regardless, I guess we're outa luck for milking her this time around -- which leads to my last question:
3) What's the best way to hook up with a good AI guy (or gal)? I googled it and came up with nothing. haven't asked my neighbors yet, but want to have some clue about what I'm looking for, exactly. I'd love to get a Dexter/Jersey mix little baby girl-cow - - if God is good and works that gender out for us... But don't know where to start to look to get her bred ... Is all AI the same? And where do I find someone?
Thanx so much for any help!
1) We have a 3 y.o. Dexter cow, her 6 mo old steer calf, and a 1 yr old Dester heifer. The heifer may have been exposed before we got her, but we don't know if she's "with calf" or not. She's a royal pain in the butt, as she's one of those critters who just. will. not. respect the fence -- electric jolt or not. If she's not pregnant, we may sell her, or possibly put her in the freezer (though someone said we'd get better meat if we let her go longer or "finish" her first -- whatever that means...) If she is going to have a calf, though, we might suffer it through and keep her for the calf. Question is: How do we know if she's pregnant? Do we just watch to see if she goes into heat? (I worry that, being the raucus cow she is and us being new at this, we may miss it...) Is there a "pregnancy test" for cows? Like, catch some pee and put a test strip in it?? How do we know?
2) The 3 y.o. has weaned her calf pretty much herself, it would appear, as he no longer seems to be nursing. We've been very careful to be sure she has more than enough water and hay and supplement with a little grain every day, but she's been kept in the barn since we got her about 3 weeks ago -- because of the heifer's tendency to break through the fences. Could this be why she's dried up? Or could it be the stress of the move? Should we be worried? Regardless, I guess we're outa luck for milking her this time around -- which leads to my last question:
3) What's the best way to hook up with a good AI guy (or gal)? I googled it and came up with nothing. haven't asked my neighbors yet, but want to have some clue about what I'm looking for, exactly. I'd love to get a Dexter/Jersey mix little baby girl-cow - - if God is good and works that gender out for us... But don't know where to start to look to get her bred ... Is all AI the same? And where do I find someone?
Thanx so much for any help!