Need breeding advice...

[lightnin4]

I have a friend that bought a Shorthorn heifer last spring and hasn't been able to get her bred.  He is kind of a hobby farmer and just has two cows.  He has been A.I.ing for several years and is pretty good--he helps me with our herd and he  had some cows a few years ago in a strictly a.i. situation.  I A.I.ed the heifer the first time and felt really good about it (everything seemed right). He has A.I.ed her twice since then and she keeps coming back into heat.  I think he needs to get her checked by a vet.  Maybe she is bred and persistently shows heat or has a reproductive issue and won't breed.  He hasn't tried any Lutalyse or any thing to try to sync her to breed.  Any other thoughts or suggestions?

 

[kfacres]

ya but her with a bull... Nothings as good as the real thing sometimes...

Maybe neither of you have the 'touch'...  shorthorns can be picky with who they choose to mate with.

 

[aandtcattle]

Has she been bred with the same semen each time?  Meaning, it could be the semen if each time you have used the same bull, from the same collection.  Don't want to jump to conclusions but could be a possibility that the semen is no good.

 

[lightnin4]

Has she been bred with the same semen each time?  Meaning, it could be the semen if each time you have used the same bull, from the same collection.  Don't want to jump to conclusions but could be a possibility that the semen is no good.

Same bull but from 2 different canes. (I know he got the straw of semen from the second cane the third time he bred her).  Might be the same collection but they were delivered about 2 months apart.  I have a couple of others already checked safe that were bred with that semen too.  We have talked about putting her with a bull, but he doesn't own one and I don't have a suitable breeding age bull available right now.  I have a young one we may have to try though.

 

[willow]

I am going with BS on this one.  Put her with a bull if you can find anything suitable, because as I am sure you are aware the difference between AI'ing and natural service is a few million live sperm cells and billions of live sperm cells. Best of luck.  We had a sweet little Shorthorn heifer that had the same problem and she has since made wonderfull hamburgers

 

[kfacres]

if you can find anything suitable, even if he isn't suitable... that's the difference b/w no calf, and a calf...


We had a sweet little Shorthorn heifer that had the same problem and she has since made wonderfull hamburgers   We too had a hard to breed heifer once, (shorthorn), took me 3 or 4 times to stick her as a virgin-- finally got her stuck.. calved with a heifer... and tried for nearly a year to AI her (4 or 5 times), then took her to one neighbor's bull (not a bad beast-- but very real world oriented), and then even went as far as to take her to a different neighbor's bull who was part Brangus... what a worthless SOB that would have been..> Blue roan brangus.. YUCK! 

Anyways, our theory was that calf would have still sold at auction, and that cow would still be alive to produce another one.. ended up butchering the cow (really did), and that one and only heifer calf she had, is a good cow that sticks first AI every year, and has for about 8 years now.  To make it worse- that hard breeding heifer, was my very first shorthorn-- but looking back "rosemary' sure tasted great on the grill as a burger...

 

[willow]

even if he isn't suitable... that's the difference b/w no calf, and a calf...

....very true!  Guess I should have been more clear as to what my standards of "suitable" were.... meaning anything that will get the job done.

 

[QMC]

sometimes you can get them if you breed early or late, say 2 hours after first standing heat or 24 hours after.

 

[lightnin4]

even if he isn't suitable... that's the difference b/w no calf, and a calf...

....very true!  Guess I should have been more clear as to what my standards of "suitable" were.... meaning anything that will get the job done.

I guess I should have been more specific too.  By suitable I meant calving ease. (no calf vs. dead calf/cow vs. live calf/cow).  Right now I could loan him a Maine bull that was a very bad experiment (definitely not calving ease) or an Angus bull that's almost 9 months old (could probably do the job).