Separating calf from bull

[greybeard]

wow, this plan is fraught with potential problems.
1. The heifer is currently 6 weeks old and it's good that you are looking ahead to keep her from being bred too early, but you will have no idea which month, much less which week or day she will have her 1st heat cycle.
2. The bull will undoubtedly know before you do when she starts coming in..pre-heat pheromones. The nose knows., and with only 2 females in the 'herd' it ain't like he has a lot of other things to spend his time on......
3. The 1st few cycles are apt to be irregular, varying as much as 2 weeks or even skipping a month until the heifer settles into a regular cycle, so even if you keep meticulous record of when she was last in heat, counting the days can still result in an unwanted breeding. Middle of the night while you are sleeping, middle of a storm, while you are away for a weekend...makes no difference to him, he's going to know.
4. As stated above, better have some dang good fences. Going to take a lot to deter his amorous advances...

 

[Alaskan]

it would be easier to sell the heifer before she comes into heat.

That way too you will have more milk from the cow.

 

[LndSchneid]

A lot of good information and ideas for me to consider. Thank you.

 

[farmerjan]

Okay, several more thoughts. Since she is a jersey, are you keeping a Dexter bull for a specific purpose, or just because he was available and would throw smaller calves? Are there very many dexters in your area? If you like that cross, would it be possible to get a bull for a month or so to just breed your cow when you need to get her bred then send the bull back home? There are farmers who do lease beef bulls to others who do not have very many cows and it isn't economical for them to keep a bull for only 10-20 cows, but cannot use AI, at least in this area.
You said AI wasn't successful. Was it because the breeder is too far away, so very costly to get someone there? Did the cow not settle to the breeding? How many times did you try the AI? If the cow was by herself, you may not have been able to catch her at the optimal time for breeding. Now that you have her heifer, by the time it gets to be 8 or more months, the cow would definitely show her heats better with another animal to "ride" her.

Is she a "mini" jersey? If not, any jersey semen would be acceptable for a jersey cow. The calves are small, and I have never pulled a jersey calf except for when one had twins and they were both trying to be born at the same time and there were legs of both trying to come out. Got one pushed back in and they both slid right out.

So, if you have the bull and cow and calf together now, the cow will be coming in to heat soon if she hasn't already. Once she gets bred, you don't need the bull for another 10-12 months. By then the heifer will be a year, will be coming into heat and will make it easy to catch heats on the cow for the next calf. So then AI would be easier. What did you feel was too high a cost? Here, semen will run about $20-40 per straw, and the tech service will be about $20-30 so a breeding will be about $50 m/l. Feeding a bull will run about $.50 to $1.00 per day at least. So you can do several breedings before it gets close to the cost of keeping a bull.

What about the possibility of getting a younger bull, breeding the cow, then putting him in the freezer? At least the cost of the purchase will pay you back some in beef.

Once the heifer gets up past 6 months, as @greybeard has said, she can come in heat and the chance of you catching the first one, and every one after that, to be able to keep them separate is really iffy. And take it from someone who has had jerseys for years, they can and will come in heat younger than many other breeds. I had a heifer that was on a nurse cow and got bred at 7 months, and luckily I was suspicious and got her checked and found out that she was pregnant soon enough that I could abort her. It would have killed her to calve at 16 months. Even if she had had the calf okay, it will stunt their growth and they will always be smaller and probably never reach their potential. You really don't want them calving before 24 months. I like to calve mine for the first time in the 27-30 month range. A little more maturity and time for growth and they just seem to do better. I do not feed like a dairy farm, and "pour the feed to them" in order to get them big and grown by 24 months. But the little bit older seems to also get them a little more settled down, and their bodies will bounce back and they will breed back easier.

Bulls do tend to be a bit less aggressive if running with a "herd"; and you do not have a herd, but a single cow or two to keep him occupied, but that's no guarantee. We have some very quiet angus bulls. I still would not trust them completely. And when a cow comes in heat, you NEVER GET BETWEEN THEM AND THE COW. You would not be able to bring the cow in the barn to be milked and be completely safe that the bull would not try to come through the gate or whatever. They don't have to be mean....it is just nature. Keeping the calf locked in the barn, away from the bull when she is in heat might just get you a torn up fence or gate or barn door. And he could be completely fine, no trouble and a perfect gentleman.

Not trying to be negative, or be a scare monger. BUT, even a Dexter is a big enough bull that he will out weigh you several times over, and when the hormones get running high...there are no guarantees. Even cows in heat can be a pain in the arse, and have been known to try to mount a human just because the hormones are running high.

 

[LndSchneid]

I am learning so much from you all. My town is small, like my Jersey, it's no less than $1,000.00 to get semen sent here and find anyone within 200 miles who can do AI. One failed attempt was enough for me.

There are 2 people in town who have, or used to have cows with a bull. Thanks to you all I will find them and see if they have options.

I got the Dexter for the gentler temperament and size. I would have preferred pure Jersey instead of crossing, but couldn't manage it. I have seen his behavior when my cow went into heat a week or so ago. Whoa. I would need a very strong pen. He is relatively easy other than that.

Thank you so much.

 

[farmerjan]

Yes, do get in touch with anyone with cattle in the area. Are there any dairies in the area? Most all do AI breeding, and often have cleanup bulls although they would be most likely holstein. If they do any AI they can get and store some jersey semen for you in their tank. And it can be gotten when they have a regular delivery from their AI company.
Now for the cost. Whoever or wherever you got semen from RIPPED YOU OFF if it was $1,000. I just got semen shipped in from Kansas to VA. The shipping costs for a returnable semen shipping tank were less than $150 plus the cost of semen. I bought over 20 straws of semen and no one straw cost over $40. and most were $25 and $30 each straw. I bought more than I needed for awhile because I was already paying shipping, so why not get a bunch. Unless you got sexed semen which is about twice the cost of the regular semen. But there are some purebred bulls that will bring $100. a straw. Still WAY LESS than the cost you stated. There is a guy on here some, I will see if I can find his info. He is in SD I think, but is a rep for one of the semen companies. Maybe he can help.
@babsbag has goats in northern calf I think. Maybe she can help.

You do not want to keep a jersey bull. They often get mean young. I had one that was on loan from a neighbor farmer and he was fine. But they have a reputation and they will hurt you in a minute. Dairy bulls seem to get meaner quicker than beef bulls and it could have something to do with being penned as opposed to being with cows like the beef... but they are nothing to mess with. We run a good number of beef cows and have several bulls that go with them to breed the cows at different pastures especially in the summer. When their job is done, they are brought home to the "bull lot" and they reside together away from the cows so there is less reason to want to get out.
I am glad that you saw the power of the bull and hopefully you did not have any real problems. They don't have to be mean, they are simply obeying the call of nature. And a cow in heat is the only thing they see/smell/think.

 

[farmerjan]

@jhm47 is the member who does AI. He is a representative with Accelerated Genetics or ABS. Post a question on here or start a conversation and if he is still on here maybe he can help you

 

[LndSchneid]

Thank you for your wealth of knowledge. I talked with one of the two community members here yesterday who keep cattle and they have a Dexter bull. She said they keep him contained by having him on a halter and chain. Since he was 3 days old so they say he is used to that. What do you think of that?

I need mini to mid-sized jersey semen.

 

[greybeard]

You do not want to keep a jersey bull. They often get mean young.

x100!!
Jersey genetics can add a lot of good attributes to various breeds, but all those attributes combined aren't worth the risk of me keeping one of those bulls on my property.
IMO, a 'docile' Jersey bull is one that only injures you, instead of killing you outright.

jmh47 is still active here..he just doesn't post as often as some of the rest of us.

 

[LndSchneid]

No Jersey bull for me then.