Post by Shelley (whistlingtrain) on Jan 11, 2010 23:02:43 GMT -5
My newest Dexter addition, Naomi, has been in heat regularly for quite a while--I'll say three months. I thought our bargain bull had got her pregnant because I didn't see any heat signs all summer/fall. I just assumed. But as soon as the weather got cool, she started cycling. I let the first one go because the kids were starting school and I was starting work again. But the next heat came at 21 days, and I called the AI guy. He used semen from another source (which he warned me he wasn't comfortable about, but it was my request, from a friend). It didn't take, and 21 days later she was in heat again and he came and AId her with one of his bulls. She missed the first heat, but had some clear discharge after two more weeks, which would have been 5 weeks after breeding, and not on her cycle. Then last weekend, which would have been 7 weeks post-breeding I saw a big slime glob on her vulva. It looked like egg white--clear with a string of white in it. No blood, no chunks of white, no odor.
Along with all this stuff is her shift in attitude. I was feeling like she was turning into a nice little milker. We had a routine down, and she cooperated as long as she had her food and I got a gallon per milking (OAD). But in the last 4-5 weeks she's gone berserk. If it hadn't been so peaceful here, I'd think something tried to attack her in the milking room, because her behaviour has gone steadily downhill. I've been trying all kinds of things to keep her in--and we finally had to build a stanchion because she started trying to smash me into the wall and knock me over. The stanchion helped for a while, but in the last week, she's taken to trying to climb over the stanchion wall. Mind you, she has never tried to kick. She just dances around and jumps. Very frustrating. I finally smacked her on the nose tonight and she calmed down some. (I was trying to tie her and she kept butting me and whipping her head around.
Anyway, is all this normal for bred cow behaviour. I don't understand the skipped heat/discharge. There hasn't been any mounting, other than the steer that seems to want to charge and hump everything. :-) I don't think she's been in heat. I haven't seen any blood smears. Oh, and her milk is down to about 3 quarts or so instead of 4.
Any thoughts?
Along with all this stuff is her shift in attitude. I was feeling like she was turning into a nice little milker. We had a routine down, and she cooperated as long as she had her food and I got a gallon per milking (OAD). But in the last 4-5 weeks she's gone berserk. If it hadn't been so peaceful here, I'd think something tried to attack her in the milking room, because her behaviour has gone steadily downhill. I've been trying all kinds of things to keep her in--and we finally had to build a stanchion because she started trying to smash me into the wall and knock me over. The stanchion helped for a while, but in the last week, she's taken to trying to climb over the stanchion wall. Mind you, she has never tried to kick. She just dances around and jumps. Very frustrating. I finally smacked her on the nose tonight and she calmed down some. (I was trying to tie her and she kept butting me and whipping her head around.
Anyway, is all this normal for bred cow behaviour. I don't understand the skipped heat/discharge. There hasn't been any mounting, other than the steer that seems to want to charge and hump everything. :-) I don't think she's been in heat. I haven't seen any blood smears. Oh, and her milk is down to about 3 quarts or so instead of 4.
Any thoughts?