Help! My Heifer Just Ate A Plastic Shopping Bag!

[Eggs4Sale]

Mine are just plain ol' Jersey heifers. I'm in Yuma, AZ. A few miles from us, there's a ranch of longhorn cattle (don't know what kind or even if there's more than one kind!), and we get our steers from a Brangus rancher, but those bulls are HUGE!

A lot of the ranchers here are getting out of the business with the economy tanking. I'm wondering if we'll have to do artificial insemination, or hope that a stray jersey male walks by and jumps the fence (dogs do it, why not cows?). Do you know how old a jersey has to be before she becomes pregnant? I was thinking 2 years old, but I don't know why I was thinking that.

 

[Amy's Animals]

Eggs4Sale,
The longhorn rancher probably has just regular ol' Texas Longhorns (to find more about the texas longhorn go to http://texaslonghorn.com/longhorn_info/index.cfm and browse around a little) Well, if you don't really care what the offspring will be I would breed them to a longhorn bull, a cheap one is fine. longhorns are known for producing low birthweight calves which is what you want in a first calf heifer. longhorns also weigh a lot less then your average beef bull, heavy bulls can actually injure a heifer, fatally. Artificial insemination is an option but it is complicated, especially if you dont know that much about cattle, and can be pricey. On average, 14-16 months is when heifers are bred, but this is on the commercial scale. Backyard ranchers like us can wait a little longer, it's critical that they are big enough, so if you have a small one i would definitly and let her grow a little longer. I have a lot more to say so how about I pm you? is that ok?

 

[Eggs4Sale]

Absolutely! Cow talk, I'm all for it!