Cow wont settle

[Vacanballs]

I have a great 8 yr old heat seeker cow that will not settle. She comes in heat and has been with a bull for close to a year. I have taken her to Bovagen in Texas to get checked for a cyst. She was not cystic, and they brought her into heat and gave her gnrh to ovulate. They put three units of semen in her about 4 hrs apart from each other (this was in april). She is still not bred. I hate to get rid of such a good cow, but I dont want to waste money either. I am looking for a last resort and what I am asking is there anything else that I can do, or should I just ship her. Thanks in advance.

 

[shakes]

My advice would be to sell her.  I had a really nice simmi heifer with the same problems. We tried AI'ing her 3 times using the cidr and shots( with GnRH at the time of AI) and we also let her out with the bull for 3 months and she never took.  We had a vet and embryologist look at her ovaries and everything was fine, so after about a $1000 of trying to get her bred I just ended up taking her to the sale barn. I think she just had some kind of hormone inbalance, it was really frustrating.

 

[LostFarmer]

Tie a straw of jersey semen on the fence.  That stuff is so potent it will get the other bull in calf. 

All kidding aside.  Ship her.  As a cross over from the dairy industry we have dealt with AI for years.  On some a shot of jersey would work.  The longer she is open the harder she will be to get settled.  That window of 45 to 90 days post calving seems to be when they are easiest to get in calf.  JMHO. 

 

[A.P.]

I had an old vet tell me to take 15cc LA200 and infuse it into her uterous. I had a simmi angus about 6 months ago that would cycle every 21 days and had been with a bull for several cycles and had missed a calf the previous year. Long story short before we shipped her we tried it and now she is 5 months bred. Don't know if it was just a fluke but might be worth a try.

 

[wrc]

15 cc of LA 200 is too hot.  Mix 5cc with 40cc of saline and infuse her uterus with that.  Another thing to try is putting an embryo in her.  A lot of times cows that won't sette will take an embryo.  After she has the embryo calf she should be back on track.

 

[firesweepranch]

I agree with the embryo thing. A friend of ours had the same situation. Cow was flushed several times then would not settle.  Ran her with a bull still no pregnancy.  The last ditch effort was to put a cheaper embryo in her (did not want to waist one of hers) and she stuck! She had not raised a calf of her own in several years. Worth a try. ..

 

[DakotaCow]

If she hasnt bred back she is not a good cow. Its just that easy. Trying to proliferate problems like that jsut dont work well.

 

[wrc]

If she hasnt bred back she is not a good cow. Its just that easy. Trying to proliferate problems like that jsut dont work well.

  I agree and disagree with what you are saying here.  Yes if it truely is the cows fault that she won't breed it is time to get rid of her, but there are all kinds of reasons that could cause this cow to not settle that are not the fault of the cow.  Once you are convinced youve done all you can or can afford, then make your decision to let her go.

 

[DL]

I have a great 8 yr old heat seeker cow that will not settle.

How many calves has this cow raised?
What in your opinion makes her great?


A great cow is one who raises a good calf every year and settles with one straw of semen year after year. A great cow would have settled 11 months ago.

Has this cow been ultrasounded to evaluate her uterus? What does your veterinarian say? What has she been treated with?

Based on the time and money you have already put into this cow and the fact that I don't know what you mean by "great" shipping her is likely your best option.....