how old does a cow have to be breedable

[samandmike]

i have a gunnsey female about 18 months and what i think is a jursey bull about the same age i have never seen him try to get on her i got them both at stock sale as bottle calvs when i got her there was another female that looked like her with consecutive number i have heard if she is a twin she wont breed is that true or is my bull just too young to breed her thanks for any help

 

[arabianequine]

No sooner then 2 is standard around here....so it would have the calf at almost 3 years of age.

ETA: If she was a twin to a bull yes she is probably sterile. Your vet can do a palpation test and tell you if everything feels normal. My vet charges an office visit fee to tell me but worth that....$35

If you are 100% positive the calf was twined with a female calf then she should not be sterile.

 

[Katy]

Ideally a heifer should be 2+ years old when she calves for the first time so she is old enought to breed. If she was a twin to another heifer she should be able to be bred.....if her twin was a bull tho she could very well be a free martin and they are sterile.

 

[samandmike]

im new to this farming thing and have a lot of stupid questions so hear goes are you stupid question 1 when she comes in do thay swell like a dog and bleed or how can you tell if she is in 2 is the bull old enough

 

[arabianequine]

He should be old enough, inexperienced maybe

but he will def. know when she comes into her cycle.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
He's old enough...if she goes into heat he should be mounting her. They aren't like a dog....not really any swelling or bleeding that you'd notice. Often times our cows become much more vocal when they come into heat.

 

[Katy]

I have a question for you....what does she look like? free martin's often have a certain look to them. Very high almost pinched hindquarters.

 

[samandmike]

i dont know what you mean pinched but if i get it she is not narrow in the back she has high hip bones and just about as wide in the back as in the front

 

[turney31]

Watch his nose.......It's very telling when she starts to come in. Quite the snarl!

I agree get her tested. And I am surprised your 18 mo old bull is not showing interest.

 

[Cowgirl71]

The bull is definitely old enough. We used a 13 month old Jersey bull to breed our milk cows this summer and he had no problems getting the job done.

I can't tell by looking at them whether they're in heat. They're not near as obvious as goats and dogs. I just pay attention to their behavior. If she's in heat, the bull will rarely leave her side and occasionally press his chin to her rump to see if she's ready for breeding. This will last for several hours or even a couple days. It could be that she went in heat and he bred her during the night.

Like the others said, if she's a twin of a bull, then there's a 90% chance of sterility. Normal heifer calves can be sterile too, but it's very rare.

We breed our heifers to calve at two years old.