Answer:
How Do Cows Reproduce?
12 to 14 months is the age of puberty in a cow, but early maturing breeds do reach puberty by the time they are around 7 to 9 months of age. Cattle producers are working towards using science to bring that age down so that milk and meat producers can start using their cattle at a younger age. Usually, it's best to wait until they are at least 15 months of age before breeding cattle. This is so that their bodies have fully matured before trying to get them to reproduce. Even with the early maturing breeds you should wait around 13 to 15 months of age before you can breed them. The Estrous Cycle of Cattle averages a 21-day period. The length of ovulation varies partly depending on the species. The mean time of ovulation for dairy cows is 15 ± 2.6 hours. But the ovulation time does vary greatly, here are some other examples: Short- horn, 12.69 ± 1.15 hours; Angus, 13.93 ± 1.68 hours; and Hereford, 13.5 ±.87 hours. (www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030241953912) A cow's gestation period (how long after insemination the mother is pregnant with the calf) is approximately nine months. But if your cow has calved before, there's a good chance she'll give birth after the same number of days as before. Some things you should consider when breeding cattle are as follows:
Safety- Your safety is more important than the animals, so it is smart to learn good safety measures when breeding such a large animal.
Fertility- You should get the IBR vaccine for your cows because IBR can cause the unborn calves to die. This situation is also known as an IBR abortion. Appropriate management of the bull is also an important factor when considering infertility. For example, you must have an appropriate bull to cow ratio for your farm and pastures.
Mating or insemination? - many farmers take the less natural rout of artificial insemination to grow there heard because they do not have to have a prized bull to have their cow breed with one. It can save farmers money to use artificial insemination, but it also flattens out the gene pool because lots of people are using the same animals so there’s less diversity. There are pro’s and con’s to both sides so make sure you do your research before deciding what method to take for breeding.
Breeding plan- Setting up a breeding program involves setting a breeding goal, making the selection of parents, and then carrying out the mating or artificial insemination. Your breeding plan should be specific to you and your farm.