When will she calve? Guesses?

primrose

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Hi! I have a Jersey x Fleckvieh heifer due to calve 'March sometime' ... I have noticed her udder filling a LOT in the last 5 days, and fresh stringy discharge thruout the last few days... Does she look likely to calve in the next week?
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also i believe i am seeing some springing of the vulva? not totally sure, ive never watched one cow this closely lol
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also sorry for the graphic images🙈😂

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farmerjan

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Udder is not full or tight. Teats not filled or tight either. The discharge can happen for several weeks before calving. A heifer will get quite a bit more swollen further ahead of time NORMALLY..... I give her a couple weeks at least. End of March would be my guess.
 

primrose

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Doesnt seem like much progress the last week... seems her 'roundness' isnt so round either... could she be a lot farther from calving then we first thot? I have seen the calf moving around like crazy... so i know its in there🤪 yup im impatient, i was hoping to be milking already🙈
 

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farmerjan

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When was the LAST date she was in with the bull??? Unless she was running with the bull the whole time, then we always figure from the first possible date to the last possible date when we are calving out our beef cows. When we are more diligent about putting the bulls in and taking them out to get a 45 or 60 day calving window it is easier.... She could have come in heat, gotten bred and then cycled again in 3 weeks if she didn't settle.
Her udder needs to fill out quite a bit more and get tight looking... since the pictures don't look much different, then it is a good chance she might go another month. Again, it depends on the amount of time she was exposed to the bull. If she was bred AI, then there have been many cases of a cow going 2 weeks over her "estimated due date".... so don't panic.
 

primrose

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so i just talked to the lady i bought her from... she was in with the bull until october🙈 BUT the good news is... when preg checked her in fall, the vet said she should be due in March! a vet cant be too far off!? maybe she will calve before the end of April atleast!?😂 Thankyou for all the input!
 

farmerjan

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Okay... preg checked is good. If the vet said March, and he was doing palpation, once an animal gets to the 5+ month range, the calf is "down deep" in the body cavity and it is hard to tell how far along they are. Our vet does ultrasound, and he says anything over 6 months, it is a guesstimate with the size of the fetus helping to guess how far she is. So, yeah, I would say he could easily have been off a month... She will continue to get more and more udder, it will fill out and get tighter looking and once the teats look pretty full, then you are getting close. She looks fine... don't get too impatient... you may wish for a day off of milking sooner than you think.... It is demanding...rewarding, but some days it is just something that you think.... I don't have time for this today..... been there done that many MANY times....
 

primrose

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well theres one more day of March left...
the calf is very visibly active, most of the time now!... opinions on calf sharing? i had been planning to start out that way, but would i have an easier time with her since she is a heifer, if i took the calf off right away and fed the calf with her milk myself? then id be milking twice a day... i guess im wondering because of the issues that come with a cow letting down her milk/cream... id like to train her from the start the best way i can without her forming bad habits lol... maybe i could calf share later on...?? i guess i want the best of both worlds, the cream and some 'off time' 😂
 

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