Something odd happened today.

[Joe Boy]

While walking in my pasture checking the pregnant cows and heifers I watched three different cows ride a heifer who stood, and lowered her head.  She is almost due.... tight udder, and she needs to swell up about a week more... I have had cattle and been in the pasture 65 years and had never seen that before...... two of the cows will calve in two weeks and one had calved last week. Go figure....

 

[Cowboy]

JB -- this is what I call a fairly common thing actually -- and is the result of the late -- and I mean LATE, gestation estrogen surge that happens just a few days to a week or so before calving. It is a natural swing in hormones to first of all, loosen and expand the cervix, it also preps the sytem for uterin contractions.

This is a very dangerous time for these late term cows however. If there are some cows mixed in the herd that may be already cycling, these late term cows undergoing the estrogen surge will be very active and ride like crazy. This can and does cause - in some cases - a cow to actually tear loose a cotiledon and then she will almost always calve earlier than she normally would have.

Not much you can do about some of this unless you are able to sort a few cows away that are prone to ride -- as yours are doing.

Good observation though, most people would not see this as they are not looking for hot cows in the calving pasture!!! Usually it is the hfrs who do the riding --- they are - let's say - ACTIVE little buggers!

That's my take on it in my own herd too -- hope that helps ease your mind, as long as you don't now start to worry more!! hehehe

Terry

 

[dori36]

While walking in my pasture checking the pregnant cows and heifers I watched three different cows ride a heifer who stood, and lowered her head.  She is almost due.... tight udder, and she needs to swell up about a week more... I have had cattle and been in the pasture 65 years and had never seen that before...... two of the cows will calve in two weeks and one had calved last week. Go figure....

That's an example of why in my small herd, where I usually left in my bull nearly year around, I pulled him about a month before the cows were due to calve.  That hormone surge is just as "magnetic" to a bull as it is when the females are open and cycling.  It can pose some danger to the pregnant cow when the bull tries, or even succeeds, in breeding them.  I suspect, as Terry explained, that it can be just as dangerous when the herd is riding them.  I'd think pulling her out of the herd to put her in a safe calving environment might be wise.

 

[Show Heifer]

I used to own several angus cows that would get bred, and then about 5 months later start to "cycle", would stand to be rode, etc. Then they would calve, and start the whole irritating process over again! Drove me nuts, as when this first happened I preg'ed them every time they would ride!  These were 5-8 years old. But apparently all was well as I never had trouble getting them bred, or staying bred.
Good luck