Post by Tamara on Jan 23, 2016 3:20:12 GMT -5
So Tallulah evidently wasn't bred when she got in with the neighbour's bull - my best guess is because she got in after the ideal timeframe had already passed (I just found her in there in the morning so I have no idea how long she'd actually been there). She has only had one calf and that was 3 years ago. She was bred young so she's only a little over 4 years old now.
She has always cycled regularly and has never been overweight, so I don't suspect any fertility issues.
The British White cow and calf I'm buying will be arriving sometime after the 10th of February, right after Tallulah will next cycle. There is a local dexter bull I can lease any time I want but I don't actually want the BW cow bred to a dexter, so that means Tallulah's next cycle is basically my last opportunity to breed her to the dexter before the BW arrives.
My question is... should I actually use this opportunity to breed her? What are the advantages? With two new cows arriving soon and a hefty blow to the wallet, my family isn't keen on spending more money (it's $80 to lease the dexter) and add yet another animal to the property (even if we do sell the calf once weaned).
Plus we can think of a lot of downsides to breeding her....
For a start, she's still producing 1.5-2 litres a day, with no sign of drying up any time soon. It is a pretty good amount of milk for my family and it still tastes good and keeps well.
She is terribly good at holding up. When she had Ginger I guesstimate she would have been producing maybe 1.5-2 gallons but I was lucky to get a couple of cups. That means even if she does produce more this next lactation, I'm unlikely to actually get a decent amount until the calf is weaned.
Then there is always the chance of calving complications, and if she has a boy that means we have to steer him (no fun, and it costs) and when sold he will mostly likely get eaten by his new owners. Not a nice thought.
That is a lot of cons. I've heard that breeding a cow regularly is better for her fertility (if anyone can explain why that would be good) but otherwise, what are the benefits? I know I won't be able to milk her indefinitely for the rest of her life but I can probably comfortably milk her for another year with no threat of her drying up.
She has always cycled regularly and has never been overweight, so I don't suspect any fertility issues.
The British White cow and calf I'm buying will be arriving sometime after the 10th of February, right after Tallulah will next cycle. There is a local dexter bull I can lease any time I want but I don't actually want the BW cow bred to a dexter, so that means Tallulah's next cycle is basically my last opportunity to breed her to the dexter before the BW arrives.
My question is... should I actually use this opportunity to breed her? What are the advantages? With two new cows arriving soon and a hefty blow to the wallet, my family isn't keen on spending more money (it's $80 to lease the dexter) and add yet another animal to the property (even if we do sell the calf once weaned).
Plus we can think of a lot of downsides to breeding her....
For a start, she's still producing 1.5-2 litres a day, with no sign of drying up any time soon. It is a pretty good amount of milk for my family and it still tastes good and keeps well.
She is terribly good at holding up. When she had Ginger I guesstimate she would have been producing maybe 1.5-2 gallons but I was lucky to get a couple of cups. That means even if she does produce more this next lactation, I'm unlikely to actually get a decent amount until the calf is weaned.
Then there is always the chance of calving complications, and if she has a boy that means we have to steer him (no fun, and it costs) and when sold he will mostly likely get eaten by his new owners. Not a nice thought.
That is a lot of cons. I've heard that breeding a cow regularly is better for her fertility (if anyone can explain why that would be good) but otherwise, what are the benefits? I know I won't be able to milk her indefinitely for the rest of her life but I can probably comfortably milk her for another year with no threat of her drying up.