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.