Cow cow: what does it mean and why is it not inseminated, can it be milked

A dry, or non-pregnant cow is an animal that has not been fertilized after mating. In this case, we can talk about infertility. Illness is always a problem. Prevention of infertility begins with the identification of the causes that led to the violation of the reproductive function of cattle. All adverse factors must be eliminated. Lethargy is treatable in some cases.

What does a dry cow mean

An animal like a cow is kept for milk. Milking of cattle begins after each calving. The lactation period lasts about a year.To prolong lactation, the animal is inseminated again in the period of 60-90 days after calving. If a cow loses the ability to fertilize, then it is called barren.

In the future, milk production in such an animal decreases and completely stops. If the female is not covered, that is, for some reason she loses the ability to reproduce due to a violation of the reproductive function, then she is treated or sent to slaughter. In this case, there is infertility in cattle. Such animals are considered barren:

• cows that do not have productive insemination for 3 months after the last calving;
• heifers not fertilized, starting from day 30 after the young animals reach breeding age.

After calving, estrus (readiness for insemination) in females occurs in 21-28 days. They need to be fertilized precisely during this period or after 18-24 days. The animal comes to hunt every month. If the cow was inseminated, but the female did not become pregnant, then she is considered barren.Infertility (depending on a number of reasons) can be temporary or permanent. Such a concept as barrenness is applicable exclusively to the breeding stock of cattle.

Signs of barrenness

Main signs of non-pregnancy (lackiness):

• lack of sexual hunting for a long time;
• presence of the fact of hunting, but the absence of fruitful insemination;
• Having several infertile artificial or natural inseminations.

If a cow is not inseminated after natural covering, then we can talk about her barrenness. It is possible to recognize that the female has not fertilized after insemination by her reaction to the bull. If on the 20-30th day after mating she has a hunt, then she is sterile. A calf, that is, a fertilized cow, as a rule, behaves calmly and does not let the bull in.

You can also recognize barrenness by the coat of an animal. In a pregnant female, it is smooth and silky. In barren, the wool sticks out like needles on a hedgehog. On the 40th day after mating, a pregnancy test can be performed using freshly milked milk. Before testing, it should stand for 30 minutes. The test is carried out as follows: a few drops are dripped into a glass of boiled and cooled (up to 42 degrees Celsius) water. The milk of a pregnant (fertilized) female will settle to the bottom in wavy circles. In barren, on the contrary, it will dissolve in water.

You can more accurately determine the barrenness or pregnancy of a female 2-3 months after insemination using a rectal examination. With this method, the veterinarian probes the uterus through the rectum. Barrenness can also be detected 19-21 days after mating by analyzing the content of progesterone in milk.Low concentrations of this hormone indicate not pregnancy.

The most modern way to determine maliceness is considered to be ultrasound diagnostics using a portable (portable) ultrasound scanner. The embryo (or lack of it) can be seen already a month after insemination of females.

Main reasons

There are a number of reasons leading to infertility in pets. Before treating cattle, adverse factors must be eliminated. Barrenness in some cases occurs through the fault of a person, that is, due to improper maintenance and feeding of pets.

Keeping a cow

Inadequate sanitary conditions affect the he alth of cows in general and their reproductive function in particular. Infertility occurs if the barn is cold, damp, dark, dirty, and the animal does not walk in the fresh air.

Malnutrition

The main cause of barrenness is considered to be poor-quality and inadequate nutrition of cattle. Rare feeding, that is, keeping them in a state of hunger for a long time, affects the decrease in the reproductive function of females. In winter, there is often a serious lack of vitamins (A, D, E) and minerals in feed. This can also serve as a cause or prerequisite for infertility.

Sallowness is also affected by the not quite correct structure of the diet, that is, a lack of hay and an excess of silage, compound feed, grain.

Inadequate feeding subsequently leads to a failure of the sexual cycles, as well as to ovarian atrophy, lack of ovulation. A significant lack of essential amino acids and too low protein levels in the feed is the cause of a decrease in hormonal activity, as well as metabolic disorders.

Insemination errors

Slowness can be caused by premature insemination of young females before they reach puberty.It is advisable to cover cattle after 12 months. The fact is that with malnutrition, puberty in heifers occurs later than the due date. Young animals that have managed to gain 350 kg of weight are allowed to mate.

The absence of pregnancy is affected by an incorrectly chosen fertilization period, that is, untimely detection of estrus. It is important to remember that insemination may not occur not only due to the fault of the cows, but also due to the use of bulls with low fertility. True, with artificial insemination, barrenness is possible due to the poor quality of sperm resulting from improper storage.

Diseases and anomalies of the reproductive system

During the vital period of embryonic development in animals, anomalies of the genital organs may occur. Subsequently, this pathology leads to infantilism in young heifers, that is, to the underdevelopment of the uterus, ovarian hypoplasia, and the absence of regular sexual cycles.

Cows can also be freemartinism. This infertility is due to the underdevelopment of the vagina, cervix with the normal functioning of the ovaries. In rare cases, hermaphroditism is possible (the presence of sexual characteristics in both female and male cattle). Hermaphrodites are always sterile. The occurrence of lethargy is influenced by inflammatory processes in the genital organs of cattle, including those caused by injuries during insemination, as well as the immune response of the cow's body to foreign sperm proteins.

Can infertility in cattle be cured?

Genetically determined barrenness has no cure. If the cause of infertility is improper maintenance, feeding or infectious diseases, then such problems can be corrected. Animals need to be provided with proper care and quality feed.

Diseases of the genital organs are treated with drugs prescribed by a veterinarian, that is, a specialist who has graduated from a veterinary university.

Prevention measures

Preventive measures to prevent barrenness should be based on the correct maintenance and proper feeding of cows. The he alth of animals and their reproductive function depend on feed and care. It is especially important to pay special attention to feeding cows in winter. In winter, cattle should definitely be given hay, root crops, some grain, as well as pharmaceutical vitamins and minerals.

Is it possible to milk a non-pregnant cow

The female begins to give milk after calving. Moreover, its number increases up to 6 months, and then sharply decreases. To prolong lactation, the female is covered. At the 7th month of pregnancy, they start her up, that is, they stop milking.

A previously milked cow, which turned out to be not pregnant, can be difficult to milk after launch. Experts advise the female to inseminate again and wait for calving. A young heifer who has never been pregnant and has not given birth to a calf cannot be milked.Milk begins to be produced only after calving.

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