Understanding Pregnancy for Cows

Pregnancy with cattle looks a lot like pregnancy with humans! Mama cow is pregnant for 9 months and once she gives birth she is in milk.

Now, it may seem like a no brainer, but getting a cow knocked up isn’t something that can only be done one way, but they can get bred two different ways; naturally or artificially via artificial insemination.

Breeding naturally is when a bull and a cow breed with one another to produce a pregnancy. Pretty cut and dry, but you have to either keep a bull on pasture or stud a bull out.

Artificial insemination is when the semen is collected by a bull and placed inside a cow by a technician.

I'll let you google how you collect sperm from a bull on your own. Some things you can't unsee or unlearn - this is one of those.

This route requires a bit more work on your end. You will need to do some research and purchase semen from a farmer who is selling the semen with the genetic profile you're looking for. You can find a bull that has the polled status you'd like, A2 status, high milk production, high butterfat production etc. You can also go as far as to get sexed semen which has a 90% accuracy rate.

Once you've found semen you'd like to purchase, it will get shipped to you (or your breeder) via UPS ground service in a special liquid nitrogen vapor shipping container. This will help keep the semen viable during transit.

Once it gets to it's destination, it is placed in a liquid nitrogen refrigerator and won't be thawed until 10-15 minutes before use.

When it's time to inseminate the heifer or cow, a shot of estrogen which will amp up the cow's hormones and create a window of opportunity for ovulation to occur in the cow.

The window to artificially inseminate her is anywhere from 4-16 hours after the onset of the heat cycle triggered by the estrogen shot. This is where it's make or break with insemination. If the breeder reads the heat cycle signs incorrectly and they aren't in that window of opportunity, the pregnancy won't take and more rounds of AI will be needed.

Next, a vial will be attached to a tube and inserted into the vagina via the cervical opening into the uterus. The semen sample will be administered and just like that, the deed is done.

Then, after about 30 days you can test for pregnancy via bloodwork to see if it took.

This route will run you a decent fee depending on how much each person charges for the semen, storing the semen and the insemination procedure. Some AI specialists will come to your homestead and do the procedure. Other AI specialists require you to drop your cow off at their pasture for them to monitor around their heat cycle to do the insemination.

This route will run you a decent fee depending on how much each person charges for the semen, storing the semen and the insemination procedure. Some AI specialists will come to your homestead and do the procedure. Other AI specialists require you to drop your cow off at their pasture for them to monitor around their heat cycle to do the insemination.