Bred Heifer?

[cjc]

I exposed this heifer to a bull for about 7 months. I am assuming she is bred. She started developing udders about 6 months ago and now I believe they are starting to fill with milk. Her back end also looks "different". What do you guys think? How far away is she?

 

[Sumi]

I'm no cow expert, just giving this thread a bump for you. Hopefully one of the "cow people" here will be able to help you more!

 

[WildRoseBeef]

She certainly has that "bred" look to her, but it's hard to tell how far along she is. She could be anywhere from 4 to 2 months away from calving, with her vulva getting so big and almost lax like it is. Best way to determine if she is pregnant is to get a palpation done on her. Or continue to wait and see.

 

[cjc]

Thanks @WildRoseBeef! She has a clear liquid coming out of her today. We are going to move her to a calving area tonight. I am starting to think she's a late bloomer in the udder department. Her bag has doubled in size over night though

 

[Goatgirl47]

I agree with @WildRoseBeef, she looks pregnant to me! So this will be her first time?

 

[cjc]

Yes this will be her first calf. Will be interesting to see what comes out of her. She's a little cow. Maybe angus x Hereford maybe with some jersey in her, bred her to a short horn

 

[Latestarter]

OK... I know next to nothing about cows (aside from the obvious - they make milk and I LOVE milk), so the following is an attempt to learn... When I look at the pictures, her whole lower abdomen seems "sunken" and thin... much thinner than the chest area. I would have though if there was a calf in there, that whole portion of her anatomy would be much fuller... wider, deeper, hard to describe/explain what I'm trying to say. Also, her belly area, behind the ribs but before the udder seems to slope up towards the rear... shouldn't this be much lower with a calf in there?
I see her lady parts seem rather swollen and apparent, and you mention a discharge, and udder development... Would that happen with 2-4 months still to go?

Can anyone help me out here? What am I missing? How small will/would this calf be? From what I'm seeing, if pregnant, I would have guessed nowhere near calving time... the calf would still have a LOT of growing/developing to do.

 

[TAH]

OK... I know next to nothing about cows (aside from the obvious - they make milk and I LOVE milk), so the following is an attempt to learn... When I look at the pictures, her whole lower abdomen seems "sunken" and thin... much thinner than the chest area. I would have though if there was a calf in there, that whole portion of her anatomy would be much fuller... wider, deeper, hard to describe/explain what I'm trying to say. Also, her belly area, behind the ribs but before the udder seems to slope up towards the rear... shouldn't this be much lower with a calf in there?
I see her lady parts seem rather swollen and apparent, and you mention a discharge, and udder development... Would that happen with 2-4 months still to go?

Can anyone help me out here? What am I missing? How small will/would this calf be? From what I'm seeing, if pregnant, I would have guessed nowhere near calving time... the calf would still have a LOT of growing/developing to do.

I was having the same issue @Latestarter Maybe @WildRoseBeef can help.

 

[cjc]

All of my cows get wide. Wide in the centre. But, I have also have cows that look like this all the time. They look the same way with or without a calf in them. I have a cow that is always big. When she calved last season the only change was big, tight udder and a swollen back end like you see in the pictures. My cows also look like they have umbilical hernias when they start getting big when they are pregnant. To me just shows that the majority of the pressure is on the centre of the abdomen which confirms this wide centre appearance. But at the same time I have a big fat cow that always looks like she has an umbilical hernia.

When I look at her she looks very pregnant. She's as wide as a house with four peg legs. This calf will be small most likely because she is a small cow.

Because she is a heifer it's hard to tell how close she is to calving without being properly checked which is why I asked this question. Last season I had a heifer that calved and her bag filled in the same week. I sent these same pictures to two cattle ranchers I know. One said about 4 weeks would be their guess, another said a week max. He said he expected her bag to fill overnight. And, in the past two days her bag has been rapidly filling, I will try and snap another pic today when I go feed my calf.

 

[TAH]

All of my cows get wide. Wide in the centre. But, I have also have cows that look like this all the time. They look the same way with or without a calf in them. I have a cow that is always big. When she calved last season the only change was big, tight udder and a swollen back end like you see in the pictures. My cows also look like they have umbilical hernias when they start getting big when they are pregnant. To me just shows that the majority of the pressure is on the centre of the abdomen which confirms this wide centre appearance. But at the same time I have a big fat cow that always looks like she has an umbilical hernia.

When I look at her she looks very pregnant. She's as wide as a house with four peg legs. This calf will be small most likely because she is a small cow.

Because she is a heifer it's hard to tell how close she is to calving without being properly checked which is why I asked this question. Last season I had a heifer that calved and her bag filled in the same week. I sent these same pictures to two cattle ranchers I know. One said about 4 weeks would be their guess, another said a week max. He said he expected her bag to fill overnight. And, in the past two days her bag has been rapidly filling, I will try and snap another pic today when I go feed my calf.

Okay. Is it also hard to tell because she is first timer?