Hi, my dream has always been to own and operate a dairy farm consisting of Brown Swiss. however at this time i'm only 16, and a girl at that. My Great-Great gandfather, along with my great-grandfather, and also my gandfather owned herds of Brown Swiss. The large herd started from one lone heifer. my grandpa died when he was only 26 years old, i never knew him. however, after his death my grandma was forced to sell the intire herd because it was to hard to run the farm and take care of 3 small childern. now its my turn to start the herd all over and i intend to do it the same way. I've always loved brown swiss cattle and i have shown my step-uncle's, and also a family member of mine bought some for me to show for many years and then sold them. I have worked for two years to save up enough money to buy my very own heifer and i finally have done it. We recently bred her and the first time she didn't take because she came back into heat. We just bred her four days ago Jan. 9 of '02. i was just wondering if there is anyway to tell if she has taken other than if she goes into heat again.

-- Joni Gill (jojo712@hotmail.com), January 14, 2002

Answers

First of---- congratulations!!!

It is very difficult and requires a very delicate touch to pregnancy test ( palpate) before 45 days of pregnancy. I did it years ago but as you know, she will be in heat before then if she didn't take. Manually palpating the uterine horns this early can actually cause her to lose the calf if you aren't careful. Gently palpating her at 60 days is much better. The uterine horn is begining to fall over the pelvic brim down into her belly. Feels like a good sized water balloon. But frankly, by this time if you have been watching her regularly you pretty well have figured out that she is bred by the absence of her heat cycles. There are some ultra sound machines that detect pregnancy very early but I am not sure of just how early. I know it is before the embryo implants because I saw it used at a dairy and we could actually see the embryo "swiming" around as it floated in the fluid. This was a service that the dairyman's vet did for him. I wish you could just tell with a crystal ball but it doesn't work that way--- just have to wait and see!!! Tana Mc

-- Tana McCarter (mcfarm@totelcsi.net), January 15, 2002.

Best way is just watch your calender and your cow.

-- Don (dairyagri@yahoo.com), January 15, 2002.

Stick to your dreams - it's wonderful. I was reading (somewhere) this week that Brown Swiss along with several other breeds of cattle including milking shorthorns are in danger as a breed in Canada? Too many people switching to 'black and whites'. I don't have first hand knowledge about telling if she's pregnant, but my father was an artificial insemination technichian for 40 odd years. I seem to recall him saying it was crucial to catch them at the right point in the heat cycle. When the farmers called for service, he always asked 'when did you first notice her' and then he could calculate how long he had to get there, whether he had to go that morning, or if they could wait until afternoon. I'll ask him next time I see him.

-- Bernadette Kerr (bernadette_kerr@hotmail.com), January 15, 2002.

There is a test kit available,ask your local vet or check some of the large animal veterinary catalogues. The vet could palpate her rectally at 28 to 35 days and if he/she is experienced should be able to identify a normal pregnancy from a suspect one that might not continue to term. At about 4 months to 5 months the calf can be balotted from the side on the right. You'll need someone who has done this before to teach you how. Obviouasly , this is less reliable than the chemical method or the rectal palpation. Brown Swiss are large framed and deep gutted. Makes balotting a calf a little more difficult---personal experience.:)

-- Sandra Nelson (Magin@starband.net), January 16, 2002.