Hopefully only once. A healthy cow should be able to be settled on only one breeding session to conceive a calf. If there are more than one bull present and she is in heat, she will most likely get bred by more than one bull.
Only once is necessary to get her settled. However, during a heat period, one cow can be bred to multiple bulls (if there are that many) more than once during her heat period.
First of all, let's do the math here. One year has 365 days, and the average estrous period of a cow is 21 days. So to find how many times a cow will go into heat in one year is 365/21 = 17 days. Thus, a cow (if not bred during that year) will go into heat 17 times in one year.
Cows are typically bred once a year, with a gestation period of about 9 months. This means a cow can be pregnant once a year and give birth to one calf annually.
A cow that is close to calving, and is far along in her gestation period.
The cow was bred on December 26, 2008, since the average gestation period for all cows is 285 days long.
The act of conception for the purpose of producing offspring. A cow can only conceive if she's bred to a bull, not another cow. See the related question below to find out how it's done.
Bred cow.
A bred cow or a pregnant cow, or, in the dairy industry, just a cow. In sale barns, if she has a calf at side, she is also referred to as a 3-in-1 or a three-fer or suckling bred cow. If she's lactating, like in a beef or dairy herd, then she's called a nursing bred cow, lactating bred cow or bred lactating/milking dairy cow. If she's not nursing or lactating, she's called a dry bred cow non-lactating pregnant cow if you really want to get technical. In the dairy industry, a lactating heifer that has already had her first calf is referred to as a first-calf heifer; once she has a second calf she is generally referred to as a cow. In the beef industry, a heifer that is pregnant with her first calf is called a bred heifer.
Only once is necessary to get her settled. However, during a heat period, one cow can be bred to multiple bulls (if there are that many) more than once during her heat period.
First of all, let's do the math here. One year has 365 days, and the average estrous period of a cow is 21 days. So to find how many times a cow will go into heat in one year is 365/21 = 17 days. Thus, a cow (if not bred during that year) will go into heat 17 times in one year.
A cow that has NEVER had a calf in her lifetime is called a Heifer. A cow that has not had a calf YET is a heavily pregnant or heavy-bred, or a short-bred or long-bred cow. A cow that has not had a calf during a calving season is called a barren cow, an open cow, a cystic cow, a cull cow, a meat/slaughter cow, a poor cow, a free-loader, etc.
Cows are typically bred once a year, with a gestation period of about 9 months. This means a cow can be pregnant once a year and give birth to one calf annually.
A heavily pregnant cow, or a long-bred cow. Or, a cow that is expecting soon.
Yes.
A cow that is close to calving, and is far along in her gestation period.
Yes.
It's possible, but if you catch that milk-thieving cow right away and separate her from the herd to wean her from doing that (or just outright cull her) the open cow shouldn't produce, or rather continue producing milk.