Maybe Baby

No, not for me quite yet although I could have a full term little one in less than a month!

This maybe baby is for our mama cow. We spent last Friday night getting very friendly with the old girl. My mom noticed some heat signs late last week and by Friday the cow appeared to be in a standing heat.  The steer was giving it his all, but just doesn’t have what it takes to make a baby

A friend of ours is certified for artificial insemination and my grandfather’s semen tank still has a few straws for AI that he picked out many years ago.  We choose MSU Prospector 508 as the bull for this particular round.  Hopefully the AI will take and we’ll be calving around May 7th next year.  If this cycle doesn’t take I think we are planning to wait a few months and aiming for a fall calf to avoid the peak fly season with a summer baby.  Here are a few pictures of the AI process for those who are interested.

 

Getting Ready:

Mama in the head gate

 

We were shocked at how calm she was.  An angel during this whole process!  No kicking or bucking just hanging out.

The all important glove:

The brave guy wore white for this job

Inserting the semen straw

The chosen bull:

It was definitely an interesting process.  While we would prefer a bull to do the dirty work, it’s kind of impractical to get one for only one cow.  If a few rounds of AI don’t take maybe we’ll venture down that path but for now we’ll see what happens!