Cattle Reproduction

Size doesn't matter in this scenario. A bull will reach is terminal (or mature) weight by the time he reaches 3 to 4 years of age, and can continue to be used for breeding, as long as he's got good fertility and libido, and doesn't challenge the owner in any way, for up to 15 years of age.

The act of giving birth to cattle is called calving.

A rectal palpation on a cow or heifer is done for three main reasons:

1) Checking for pelvic area in heifers to be used for the breeding herd.

2) Checking for cystic ovaries in cows that are not coming up pregnant

3) Checking for pregnancy status as well as gestation stage of the cow's calf.

For all the above, a producer and a veterinarian, depending who is doing the rectal-palpating, must be able to know bovine reproductive anatomy and have a bit of practice in order to know what to feel and where to expect to feel it. Note that the cervix is not felt for anything more than just location in respect to the uterus and onwards to the ovaries. The cervix is needed to be felt if the cow is being artificially inseminated which, in this case, is not being done. The uterus cannot be accurately felt via rectal palpation because of its malleability in the cow's abdomen in respect to the malleability of the rectal wall: both consist of the same malleability and texture. The one doing rectal palpation can't feel the uterine wall unless they can feel the fetus or feel the artificial insemination gun tip as it is guided from the cervix into the uterus. (For a vet checking reproductive connection in a heifer, a probe needs to be used to test, for example, whether the vagina is connected to the cervix, or the vagina and cervix to the uterus.)

Pelvic area can be done by hand or with a instrument called a Rice pelvimeter. The pelvimeter is inserted into the rectum and determine the height and width of the inside of the pelvic opening. By hand, the same measurements are taken, only it's more of an estimate of what size the pelvic opening should be versus the quantitative measurements taken with the Rice pelvimeter.

When feeling for the ovaries, it is done so in terms of size and texture. Cysts can be felt which can lead a veterinarian to pronounce the cow cystic. A veterinarian locates the ovaries by first feeling for the cervix (which feels like a rubbery cylinder) then moving forward deeper into the cow until the spherical-like ovaries can be felt.

Pregnancy checking involves feeling for the fetus inside the uterus and the size of the fetus in order to determine how far along the cow is. This can be done by hand, or with an ultrasound machine where the probe is inserted into the rectum and used to see, through ultrasound transferred to the image machine, the embryo or fetus. This is a technology gaining more ground in the dairy industry than the beef industry, however it is also used somewhat in the latter. The "old-fashioned" hand-feel rectal palpation is cheaper and often as accurate with experience as ultrasound.

A stray calf is commonly referred to as a "lost calf" or a "wandered calf."

A stray calf is a calf that has wandered off away from his mother, and/or has been separated from his mother by either the herd moving to another pasture, or by them being sorted, or simply by the fact that that little calf went exploring a little farther than he should have.

If she has given birth to a stillborn calf or aborted a calf, she may ovulate 14 to 16 days after calving. However, you shouldn't get her bred again until 45 to 60 days after calving, to allow complete involution (or shrinking of the uterus).

It is possible for a cow to breed back immediately after losing her calf, although it may vary depending on individual factors such as body condition, nutrition, and stress levels. However, it is generally recommended to allow the cow some time to recover both physically and emotionally before breeding her back.

A newborn Guernsey calf has an average birth weight of around 40 lbs.

To breed a cow, a farmer typically introduces a bull to the herd to allow mating to occur naturally. Alternatively, artificial insemination can be used, where sperm from a bull is inserted into the cow's reproductive system to fertilize the egg. After successful breeding, the cow will undergo a gestation period of around 9 months before giving birth to a calf.

A mature fertile bull's testicles, both measured together, should be between 35 cm and 40 cm in circumference. Naturally, this differs with the breed and size/weight of the bull. Small bulls tend to have smaller testes, whereas most large bulls tend to have larger testes.

Yes, cows mate with bulls to reproduce. Bulls are the male cattle that mate with the female cows to produce offspring. This mating process is essential for the continuation of the cattle population.

Because that bull is the best sire, bar none, for improving the kind of cows that the bull is to be bred to. He is a top quality sire, both in temperament and in conformational quality, and one that should be used on as many cows as he can service in a breeding season.

Well, kind of, even though there really is no such thing as a "male cow." But "male cows" typically refers to bulls (intact males used for breeding) and steers (castrated males used for beef).

A bull will often reach puberty by the time he's around 12 months of age (some a little sooner, if the herd's a good fertile herd), and by this time, as a Yearling Bull, he is ready to be used on heifers or sold to another producer's farm or ranch to be used on the heifers and cows there.

Some bull calves can show libido when they reach 6 to 8 months of age. Some won't show it until a month or so later. Most bulls should be showing libido by the time they are 12 months old.

However, all this depends on the breed and each individual bull. Some breeds that are later maturing (typically Continentals), like Charolais, Simmental, Limousin or Salers, won't start showing puberty until they're around 12 to 16 months of age. Other breeds that are more early maturing (typically British-type breeds) like Angus, Hereford, Shorthorn, Jersey, or Red Poll will start showing puberty as early as 6 to 9 months of age. A lot of producers who raise British bred bulls will start using them on heifers or cows when they reach ~12 months of age.

But the best thing to do is to start using the bulls when they start showing signs of sexual maturity: when they show interest in cows or other heifers that are in heat, attempt to mount and ejaculate, etc.

Zebu cows usually have quite a long gestation period, which can stretch from 290 to 300 days in length.

Then she better have enough milk to raise the two little buggers. Otherwise one of them will have to be bottle-raised if she decides to reject one of them, particularly if one of them is smaller than the other.

It could be. It could also be that the cow may be just going in or out of heat and the bull already caught her, which is why he's not interested in her. Without any further information such as if you seen her tail was crooked or she was acting funny in the hind end, this is all I can come up with for you as an answer to this question.

A cow may bellow continually when her calf is nearby as a way to call out to her calf or express concern or distress. It could be due to separation anxiety, discomfort, or a need for attention. The cow may be trying to communicate with her calf or seek reassurance from it.

A Holstein Friesian bull typically weighs between 1,500 to 2,500 pounds. The exact weight can vary depending on factors such as age, genetics, and diet.

A jersey bull typically weighs between 1,400 to 2,000 pounds. However, the weight can vary depending on the individual bull and its age, diet, and overall health.

A cow can have anywhere from one to 20 calves in her lifetime, depending on how productive she is and how long she is able to stay in the herd to produce those calves. On average, a cow will produce eight calves in her lifetime.

Cows that are used for embryo transfer can produce up to twice as many calves in her life time than she can by her own doing.

The record number of calves a cow has had in her lifetime is 39.

No, cows and chickens are different species and cannot produce offspring together. They have different genetics and reproductive systems, making it biologically impossible for them to interbreed.

A cow without a uterus is typically referred to as a freemartin. This term is commonly used for a female calf born with reproductive organs that are not fully developed.

A weaner calf is typically around 6-8 months old and has been weaned off its mother's milk. This stage marks the transition from milk to solid food and the calf becoming more independent from its mother.

A calf can gain between 1 to 2 pounds per day during the first few weeks of its life, depending on factors such as breed, genetics, and diet. After this period, weight gain typically slows down to around 1 to 1.5 pounds per day.