Q&A for How to Breed Cows and Heifers Naturally

A year old.

A bull can be used to service the same cows every year so long as he isn't breeding his own daughters. When that bull's daughters reach breeding age (~15 months), a different bull will need to be used to avoid inbreeding. The lifespan of a bull in a breeding herd can range from 2 to 15 years, and all depends on his temperament, libido, and fertility.

No, but there are minerals that, if in deficient or toxic qualities, can cause sub-fertility in cows. For example, deficiency in selenium or copper will cause low fertility rates in your cattle. Have your water and feed tested to see whether there are any deficiencies and/or toxicities. It might also be a good idea to talk with your veterinarian about other possibilities.

There are a wide range of reasons from a poor, infertile bull to a poor feeding program that is not giving your cows adequate nutrition. Test your feed, test your bull, and talk to a veterinarian as well as a nutritionist in your area to start finding out why your cows aren't catching and getting in calf like they should.

Yes, he can. Depending on the breed, just because a bull is supposedly ready to be used for the breeding herd by the time he's a year old, he can reach puberty before then and start breeding heifers and cows. Some breeds are earlier maturing than others, like Angus and Jersey, for instance. And if he's got enough viable sperm to be able to get a cow or heifer pregnant, then he certainly can become a sire at that age.

A bull calf should be ready to start being used for breeding at a year old. But, depending on the breed (and/or bloodline), bull calves reach puberty earlier than that and be ready to go as early as 6 months old. But a bull at that age is still growing and too small to be used on either cows or heifers, and he won't have the same quality sperm as a yearling bull will.

Get a vet to look at him. He could be too lame to breed, or something is wrong with his "equipment" (like a broken penis) that is preventing him from breeding your cows. He might also be doing his job, but only when you're not watching. Either way, get him checked out.

Bulls to cattle are men to humans. Like men, bulls cannot get pregnant because they are male, and do not have the same capacity or "tools" as females (cows and women) do for bearing young. However, bulls and men have the right "equipment" to impregnate cows and women, respectively. Thus, bulls do not nor cannot have a period nor menstruation. Cows (mature female bovines) do not have periods or menstruation, they have estrus or "heat" periods which are part of an estrous cycle. They do not shed uterine lining. Essentially, a cow's reproductive cycling is different from a woman's.

Even with a half-sister, you run the risk of having a calf with a genetic abnormality. Best breed her to a bull that is unrelated to her.

Yes, he can, but the question really is if this a good cross to make? If his breed is not good with calving ease or siring small calves, then you had better find a different breed of bull to cross with her. Try a calving-ease Angus bull instead to be easier on her and avoid any potential calving problems.

Yes, he's old enough to breed.

Talk with your bovine veterinarian and/or a local and experienced artificial insemination technician about synchronizing estrus for your cow. Otherwise, it's all up to her and the feed and minerals you're giving her. If she's on a good feed program, she'll be fertile enough to be bred successfully with a proper synchronizing heat program.

Yes, the possibility is there. It's rare that a bull won't breed his dam, or his sister or half-sisters. If they're in heat, they'll be bred.

No. The only time cows get tested is if there's suspect of cystic ovaries in the cow herd, which is more of a sign of spoiling them with good feed than as a disease.

Not sure what you're asking; is this bull with these calving cows, or is this just from the bull's genetics? Either way, no. Dystocia and its causes are a bit of a mystery, as it could be anything from inadequate nutrition to hormones of the cow and/or the fetus.

Yes, but without knowing the history of either, it's not a good idea to allow this to happen. Inbreeding carries a high risk of a calf being born with a genetic deformity that often results in its death.

A heifer is ready to breed at 15 to 18 months old. The latter age is for Brahman-type heifers. Heifers have been to breed much younger, and often are ready at a younger age, but because of their size and reproductive organs needing to be mature, the standard age to breed them is 15 months of age.

It only takes 5-10 seconds for a bull to copulate with a cow. Cows estrous period is, on average, 21 days long, and her estrus period (the time she's in heat) lasts for around 18-24 hours.

No quicker than 60 to 90 days post-calving. A cow needs time for her uterus to shrink back to normal size.

A yearling bull could be tested when he's over 12 months old, but the results may not be what you want to hear; depending on his breeding, at that age he may not yet have mature enough sperm to be able to breed. Bulls tend to have better bull breeding soundness exam results when they're older, such as when they get to be around 18 months of age. But again, this depends on the individual bull. Some yearling bulls will have better sperm counts and results if they've reached puberty early in life, such as at or just after weaning.

It's not so much month as to the time to put the bull in with the cows. Aim for around 3 months (at the most) after calving to put the bull back in with the cows.

For every cow bred you have a 50% chance of getting a heifer or a bull calf from that cow. There's no real explanation as to why you ended up with all bull calves from those cows. Each sperm from the bull contains either one of two sex chromosomes: X chromosomes or Y chromosomes. The cow's ovum always contains an X chromosome. The chance of bull calves or heifer calves come from the bull's semen, never the cow. So something with the strength of the sperm cells with the Y chromosome may have been why you got bull calves this year. This may change next year.

That's a myth, and a horrible one at that. She needs to have feed accessible to her at all times. The only time you'd keep a cow hungry is a full day before she is to be slaughtered. All other times, have her fed.

Other than sell the bull and get another one, nothing. It's the bull's responsibility to figure out which end is which, and there's no way you can teach him that. He'll need the time to figure it out himself. And he will figure it out, unless he's that dumb and never figures it out throughout the whole breeding season, which is unheard of and extremely, extremely rare for any bull.

Estrus (the cow/heifer coming into heat) lasts for 24 hours. This heat period comes every 21 days, on average (normal range is between 18 to 24 days).

When she's in heat, she really doesn't care which bull she chooses... or which bull chooses her! So yes, a cow will definitely mate with any bull on a first-come, first-serve basis. Fights usually break out with bulls because one bull wants to have that cow as his girl and his girl only, but the other bull wants her just as bad. Injuries (such as a broken penis) can happen too if a bull is in mid-mating and another bull rams him to get him off her. That's why in small herds of less than 10 to 20 cows, one bull is enough. More than one bull in that kind of a herd spells a whole lot of trouble.

That depends on what they're fed, how much they are given (including how much feed is typically wasted), and how much the farmer actually wants to feed. Hay bales are much easier to put out for feeding cattle every second day or even once a week, but if they're on a total mixed ration of a special mix of grains, silage, hay, and mineral, then those cattle must be fed once a day (or even twice a day). How much those animals eat is also important: if they are eating more than what's given to them, they should be fed sooner than what's originally planned; otherwise, they will be very hungry at the next feeding.