Bred yearling...What to do

[DakotaCow]

I was moving some heifers today and realized that we have another heifer that got bred. She was born April 15 2009 and was with her mom in pasture all summer. We put bulls in june 29th and pulled bulls the 22nd of August 2009. This is not the first year this has happed to us but usually when we find this out its after they have calved. What would you recommend we do?

 

[Bawndoh]

I dont see a problem with her being bred.  We have had a few "teenage" moms over the years, and they got along fine.  I am sure we have had them calve as young as 19-20 months of age.

 

[kanshow]

Actually it could be a big problem, depending on her breed, what the bull is, etc.        It can be an easy deal or a complete wreck.    Potential problems..  calving difficulty - resulting in a c-section or cow and/or calf death.  Mothering ability is less than a normal aged first calver.  Milking - this is a biggie..  they are still in a heavy growth stage themselves so you have to feed the tar out of them to get even average milk production.    Breed back takes a lot longer to get them bred back and stay that way. 
 
We've had this happen before - more frequently that preferred so we have adopted a different management program accordingly.    We routinely Lute all our heifer calves at weaning because we aren't sure.    Occasionally one will slip by that and if we catch her in time, our vet pregs & if she isn't too far - Lute & Dex.  And if they get past that..  we look at what she is potentially bred to and when exactly she could be due - according to our vet's estimation and what we think.    If we decide to keep her, she goes into a place where she can be watched and then after she calves, she is fed like a show calf and we pull the calf really early. 

 

[linnettejane]

so are you saying she was at most 4.5  months old when she got bred????????

you turned the bulls in when she was just a little over two months old and pulled them out when she was about 4.5 months old...am i understanding this correctly?  if so, dang!  that is pretty young!  and make her calving before 13-14 months???  ouch!

 

[sue]

You might try lut at weaning - we started this back a few years ago and it's well worth it.  I have had the teen age moms but....

 

[jbw]

If you can save the hfr at calving you are a winner, not always turns out like you want. I would get that calf out of her.

 

[OH Breeder]

If you can save the hfr at calving you are a winner, not always turns out like you want. I would get that calf out of her.

She would be due the end of the month. It is little late to abort. She is almost full term according to a August 22 bred date she would be due May 31st. I would be pulling that gal in and having her palpated watched closely.

 

[braunvieh]

If she is that close, I would induce her and give her a chance at having the calf by keeping the BW down. Doesn't always work though....Had a yearling heifer that we induced when she got close. Calf weighed 70 pounds and was alright but came backwards and upside down and resulted in a c-section. Baby became e a bottle calf in the hopes the heifer would recover quicker.  This calf was bred in the 4-5 month age range. I hope you get along OK, expect the worst, hope for the best.

 

[T-bob]

we just had this happen to us. Bout month and half ago the gate broke and the yearling heifers got in with the bulls. Two weeks later we lut all of them, and a week later a heifer calfed, it was bout a month off from being full term.  It died, who checks their heifer pen in the middle of the nite for baby calves?  We figured she was bout 3 1/2 to 4 months old when she got bred.  We have had yearling heifers calve out there in the pasture and it usually works out fine, but have noticed that the heifer doesn't grow"stunts the frame" alittle.

 

[OH Breeder]

If she is that close, I would induce her and give her a chance at having the calf by keeping the BW down. Doesn't always work though....Had a yearling heifer that we induced when she got close. Calf weighed 70 pounds and was alright but came backwards and upside down and resulted in a c-section. Baby became e a bottle calf in the hopes the heifer would recover quicker.  This calf was bred in the 4-5 month age range. I hope you get along OK, expect the worst, hope for the best.

Without knowing a calving date I would not induce. We have had absolute disasters when we have induced cows with a possible due date but no specific due dates. You are more likely to end up with a dead calf. I would have the vet check her for gestation and size. The vet should be able to tell you by the feel of things if she is close and how far along she is. If the vet feels like there will be dystocia then set up an elective C-Section and you will be more likely to have an uneventful delivery. If he feels like she can deliver then go by what he says. Our vet came and checked all 15 or so cows in fall. He was right on all the due dates thus far.