To breed a cow without the actual bull you need frozen semen. Well of course you do!!
This gadget. The semen is in a small straw that fits into the end of this, once it gets through the cervix the semen is gently released into the uterus.
And to get that far you will need one of these. A sleeve that goes right up to your shoulder.
Then a good whiff of this before you start because this is a smelly business especially if you have a gassy cow.
Many people learn the procedure of Artificial Insemination but I am lucky to have the Lady Vet who is kind enough to come out and do the breeding once a year. So, Daisy has been bred, and we now have to wait 30 days to see if it took. I really, really hope so, I told her to go into the next room and lie down with her legs in the air. She huffed.
But Queenie. Our sweet little Queenie was not having any of it. Her cervix would not relax at all. So we will try again in 21 days. You really do not want the details. No-one wants to hear a cow talk about her insides. She was in heat though, which means she is fertile so there is no reason why it will not work next time. Fingers crossed. The Lady Vet said this has only ever happened to her once before in her career. That she could not breed a cow.
But Queenie says she thinks Grue Grit is a pompous ass anyway.
That’s ok. We can try again. I need Daisy to calve in early spring but Queenie can be a little later, I don’t have to milk HER through the winter if the dates get too late!
The Lady Vet has given the OK for Daisy to go down to once a day milking tomorrow and then a week after that we will dry her up. Because of her history of mastitis we will dry the udder using injections into the udder. They go up through the teat and this is one procedure Delicate Daisy does not even flinch for. Which is lucky as I am right underneath her when I do it. So I am fairly confident. If we dry her up well there is every chance that when she freshens again with a new calf, her udder will reset itself and be back to normal. And I will know so much more next time. Things will run more smoothly I am sure.
Good morning.
We have the promise of sun today. The birds are loud outside so I think they know it too. Maybe today I can get into the bee hives. Also the floor men are coming this morning, they will put the floor down in the Coupe and it will be done by Wednesday. Then it will really start to look like a Tiny House.
Have a lovely day.
your friend, celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
52 responses to “What you need to breed a cow without a bull”
I have learn so much …
Goodness, what a learning curve! 🙂
Did anyone light a candle …….Queenie might be into romance !!
Of course, what was i thinking! .. c
and romantic music/
You guys!!! c
Aah – long gloves – many are the uses – and here I thought they were used in Victorian Days; my world has expanded.
ROFL – Queenie as a little of Katherine Hepburn’s personality in that film too 😉
What a process! Flower smelling included indeed. I think I might need a little time to adjust to the idea of “True Grit” too, LOL!
Maybe Queenie simply wants a bull to do the deed? Substitutes don’t switch her on.
When I was about eight I remember my mother doing the needle thing with antibiotics for the mastitis in our goat. She didn’t like it and Mom had to tie her horns to the fence to get the job done each day. The things we must do to keep our livestock happy and healthy is rough some days. So much to look forward to in the next few years, and forewarned is forearmed! I am glad you share so much with us, Celi. Thank you!
I am excited to see how your little farm shapes up! c
Pregnant thoughts for Daisy!! As we had some issues in the past with borrowing a neighbor’s bull – one came with LICE which he happily shared, and one who tore down the fence and just left, we tried A-I for the first time last summer July & August with the two dairy cows….3 times each. None worked and I’m thinking (and so did the tech guy) that it was too hot outside….90* or so. We ended up with a borrowed bull again (very clean and extremely polite) in later October. It appears that he did the job – we’ll see in about 5-6 weeks. I’ve had thoughts about buying our own bull – he could live with the horses until called upon and I’d know for certain what he’d been eating (and consequently leaving behind)….if you were closer we could share 🙂
Funny but dreadful that he tore down the fence and just left! We tried to breed daisy last year when it was too hot, and it failed, but these last few days have been cool and i have a good feeling about her. We will soon see though! Breeding two cows three times each would be such a bore! We had such a time of it yesterday.. If you had space for a bull I am sure that wold be easier, we certainly do not have the space. And the only bulls around here are angus! they would tear our little place apart!.. c
Wish you were closer! c
Boy do I remember those days…then one of our neighbors let us borrow a bull..turns out the bull had syphilis…so never again did we go that hideous, horrendous route. We then purchases 1/2 a bull with a different neighbor. This neighbor had lots more cows than us (we had 23 and he had 40) and he had a much bigger area to house the bull. So this is how it worked…he kept the bull for three months and bred some of his cows…we got the bull from Memorial Day to Labor Day and bred our cows…he then use the last 6 months of breeding the remainder of his cows.
Since we got this bull when he was 11 months old, we kept him until he was 5 years old. (Bulls get way too big after that and will break the cows backs) He delighted in seeing the truck with the trailer pull up at the fence….he was bored, the girls were tired of him…so he would walk right over and hop in ready for the next pasture.
That was such a success we continued the practice (sharing a young bull in cost) for the rest of all our years of raising cows.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
You are indeed lucky to have the lady vet do that work, it doesn’t sound pleasant at all. Queenie looks adorable, I just love the way you capture them! We were away in DC for a few days, so now I’m catching up.
How very tactful you can be, and considerate. Showing us that beautiful pink flower right after the details of insemination. So Queenie is still a virgin. What can you expect with a name like that; just another virgin Queen.
And Daisy’s udder will be ‘reset’. How are you, by the way, after your ‘reset’ by electric shock?
Sounds like quite an operation! Hope you have a sunny day, C.
Fascinating stuff . . . there is never a dull moment on the farmy!
Hope Queenie takes next time – perhaps try some candlelight and music?