Jersey will come in heat but will not breed

[jcmartin]

We have a young Jersey that is currently on a family members farm to be bred before coming here as a family cow. She has come into heat 4 times but has not yet bred. The first time they did AI but since have put her with a bull for no luck. Should we just send her back thru the sale and move on or bring her home to a different environment and keep trying?

 

[WildRoseBeef]

How old is she?

 

[Cricket]

Has the bull settled other cows? Have these been 4 consecutive heats? (i.e., she's not aborting early on). I'd have your vet check her--the vet should be able to tell if there's something preventing pregnancy and sometimes it's a pretty simple fix.

 

[boothcreek]

Also where did you buy her? If at a sale, she could be a twin and therefor a freemartin(aka not fertile) perhaps?

 

[jhm47]

First of all, freemartens do not cycle. There are many other things that might be causing the problem. A venereal disease (trich???) could cause it. Has the bull been checked for trich? Is the cow currently milking? A heavy milker is often very hard to settle. How about her feed? Could she be getting feed that contains mycotoxins? That will cause infertility.

If the bull tests out OK, I'd try having her bred again. If she's milking, I'd put a CIDR in her 3 - 5 days after she's bred, leave it in for 28 - 30 days, and then remove it. If she doesn't cycle right away, I'd guess she's bred. The CIDR will help support her pregnancy with progesterone, which she may be low on if she's a heavy milker.

Since she's cycling, you can rule out polycystic ovaries.