Post by mewz on Jun 19, 2017 23:53:34 GMT -5
Despite three consecutive AI attempts last fall, Delilah has been coming into heat like clockwork this spring. I'm sending in a bioPryn blood test to be sure, but not expecting anything other than a confirmation that she is open. Delilah is a 4 1/2 year-old Jersey and has had 2 calves, so is certainly capable of mommying. We do not live anywhere near AI, dairy, or bull facilities so our options are limited. (We trailered her 2.5 hours to her previous home last fall for AI.)
With great trepidation, we are considering buying a bull. My DH is strongly against this since her bull calf, Dicken (the One-Nut-Wonder,) wreaked havoc on our fences and a multitude of other necessities. He is now in the freezer, earning his forgiveness one meal at a time. DH would like to take Delilah to a bull for breeding, but nearest possibility is 1.5 - 2 hours away, so that would mean having to dry her off. She is currently giving +/- 2 gallons per day on OAD milking schedule 14 months into her latest lactation.
We have had rams on our farm and hate having to enter our pastures armed with bear spray to fend off their charging attacks. Our only experience with having a bull on our property was Delilah's calf. He was never aggressive to the extent of the rams, but as he grew older he certainly began learning to establish his space and discovered that he had grown bigger than his humans.
So, on to the thoughts in no particular order:
1. Are there bulls well-matched to Jersey cows that have temperaments suited to free-roaming humans? (Scottish Highland? Dexter? Lowline/Mini Angus or Hereford? Belted Galloways?)
2. Is it safe to dry her off before she is successfully bred?
3. Could it be she didn't settle because she was still nursing a calf when she was AI'd?
With great trepidation, we are considering buying a bull. My DH is strongly against this since her bull calf, Dicken (the One-Nut-Wonder,) wreaked havoc on our fences and a multitude of other necessities. He is now in the freezer, earning his forgiveness one meal at a time. DH would like to take Delilah to a bull for breeding, but nearest possibility is 1.5 - 2 hours away, so that would mean having to dry her off. She is currently giving +/- 2 gallons per day on OAD milking schedule 14 months into her latest lactation.
We have had rams on our farm and hate having to enter our pastures armed with bear spray to fend off their charging attacks. Our only experience with having a bull on our property was Delilah's calf. He was never aggressive to the extent of the rams, but as he grew older he certainly began learning to establish his space and discovered that he had grown bigger than his humans.
So, on to the thoughts in no particular order:
1. Are there bulls well-matched to Jersey cows that have temperaments suited to free-roaming humans? (Scottish Highland? Dexter? Lowline/Mini Angus or Hereford? Belted Galloways?)
2. Is it safe to dry her off before she is successfully bred?
3. Could it be she didn't settle because she was still nursing a calf when she was AI'd?