NSYNC (In Sync)

"This I Promise You:" NSYNC is more than just a 1990s boy band.

Maybe on a Kansas farm, it's more "in sync" than NSYNC. But before we say "Bye, Bye, Bye" and our cattle are "Gone" to summer pastures, it's time for our heifers and bulls to do a little "dancing" to "The Music of My Heart"

"You Don't Have to Be Alone," we tell our heifers. So we help them get "in sync" ... without a radio.

The heifers will become first-time mothers next winter. Because they require some additional attention for calving, we want to get the heifers to come into estrus (or heat) at the same time. It gets the heifers' reproductive cycles "in sync" to shorten the calving season for the heifers, which saves labor at calving time. (Well, it saves some labor for the humans - not the mama cows.) We check them frequently in case they are having trouble calving.

This year's OB/GYN candidates were born in early 2019. In 2021, they will become mothers for the first time.

Beginning March 19, our 25 yearling heifers had their silage topped with MGA. MGA is melengestrol acetate, which suppresses the ovulation cycle for the heifers. For 14 days, Randy added the MGA to the silage and fed the equivalent of 1/2 a pound per head per day.

 

Then, on April 20, we ran the heifers through the chute.

 

Just like we other ladies, they didn't appear too eager for their doctor's appointment.

As NSYNC would say, "We're Only Thinking of You." OK ... we may be thinking about efficient management. A shot of Lutalyse makes them come into heat.

They also get a vaccine to prevent respiratory issues and diarrhea when in the chute, but the Lutalyse is part of the "birds and bees" equation.

After their shots, we turned them out into the lot with the bulls where we let nature take its course, so to speak. 

This bull could be professing that he'll spend "A Little More Time..." with his "Girlfriend" with "No Strings Attached."

This is as risque as the photos will get. This is a family blog after all.

And that's as many NSYNC songs as I could work in.

The exodus to summer pasture has begun. It will be the heifers' turn on Thursday.

Bulls and Babies - Present and Future

We had our own rodeo on the County Line last Friday. Thankfully, the bulls skipped the bucking portion of the rodeo event and proceeded calmly to their doctor's appointment with Dr. Dayul Dick from Prairie Vista Veterinary Hospital. So maybe I should call it a round-up instead. Semantics, you know! And I'll gladly give credit where credit is due.

Dr. Dick came to the farm to test our five bulls through a breeding soundness examination. (For a complete - though PG - description of the process, click here on last year's "job interview" post.)

All five bulls passed the exam and were ready for action, so to speak. 

 

The four Angus bulls "went a callin' " to the heifers, beginning yesterday.

The ladies had to have their doctor's appointments, too. From March 18-31, our 25 yearling heifers had their silage topped with MGA. MGA stands for melengestrol acetate, which suppresses the ovulation cycle for the heifers. That was the first step in getting  the heifers to come into estrus (or heat) at the same time. These heifers were born in early 2015. In 2017, they will become mothers for the first time.

Yesterday, we rounded up the heifers for their turn through the working chute.

Randy gave each heifer a shot of Lutalyse, which makes them come into estrus (or heat).

 

The Lutalyse also synchronizes the heifers' cycles. We do this to shorten the calving season for the heifers, which saves labor at calving time. (Well, it saves some labor for the humans - not the mama cows.) Because heifers are first-time mamas, we check them frequently in case they are having trouble calving.

"What? It's my turn?" this heifer seemed to say. She reminded me of a toddler who covers her eyes and thinks no one can see her. Despite her diversion tactics, she had her turn in the chute, too.

Once the heifers got their shots, it was time for the bulls to join them. It will likely be a couple of days for "romance" to blossom, in other words, for the Lutalyse to work.

And then, some 9 months later, we'll hope to have lots of healthy babies running around. We are down to just a few to calve for the 2016 County Line "class."

Also last Friday, we had another rodeo event - calf wrestling - without the horse or the rope.

 

 Three babies had been born at this location since we had worked baby calves earlier.

The guys followed the same routine, but it was a little more challenging without the squeeze chute. Randy wanted this particular "rodeo" event scheduled before the rain. I guess he didn't want to reenact a greased pig race. These guys were already fast enough!

The mamas were none too happy to be separated from their babies. They didn't mind protesting - loudly!

I was guarding a gate to keep the babies from making a hasty exit underneath. A mama seemed to question my intentions.

A critic in every bunch, right? Political rallies aren't the only events with protesters.