when should I feel the calf moving?

[sargent spurs]

I have a jersey milk cow that I had artificially inseminated twice the first time was 100 days ago but I thought that she came in heat so I had it done again and that was 36 days ago. but this week while I have been milking her I think that I have been seeing movement in her stomach and I think that I can feel it also. Is this normal?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

A calf at either 100 or 36 days would not be producing visible or palpable movement.
Who is doing the AI for you - if it is a veterinarian you can have your cow pregnancy checked, in fact most vets would do so before the second insemination because of the fact that a good number of cows will show signs of oestrus when they are, in fact, pregnant and a re-insemination can cause damage to that pregnancy.

 

[Cowgirl71]

No, you wouldn't be feeling a calf yet. At this point it's quite tiny. The soonest I myself have felt it is 8 months gestation, though I know some have felt it sooner.

You may consider trying Bio-PRYN. It is a highly accurate pregnancy test using blood collected from under the tail. We've tested about 15 animals in the last year, most of those just a couple weeks ago, and are very happy with it. The best part is that you can do it yourself, because paying a vet to come out is not cheap (we're pretty rural, it costs us $100 just for him to show up!). More info here: http://www.biotracking.com/dairy

Just for fun, I included some info below from Heather Smitth Thomas' book, "Essential Guide to Calving" (I highly recommend her books and articles, she's had cattle a long time and really knows her stuff!).

2 months gestation - size of a mouse
3 months gestation - size of a rat
4 months gestation - size of a small cat
5 months gestation - size of a large cat
6 monhts gestation - size of a small dog
7 months gestation - size of a beagle

Kinda funny to think about a little mouse-sized calf!

 

[sargent spurs]

Thanks.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I agree that a preg check is pretty easy and a vet could easily do a rectal (though I've done them a few times and can't tell you what the heck I'm feeling, let alone whether or not I felt an ovary! Cows are not really my strength! Lol)

You may have just been seeing rumenal contractions. They happen about twice every minute or so, and sometimes you can see them in the same area a calf would begin to show up (calves usually squish the rumen further into gestation so they fit less in the stomach)