- The cow becomes restless and separates from other cows when it is walking in the field.
- Some breeds bellow to attract the bull.
- Milk production and food intake may decrease.
- The cow tries to mount other animals, sniffs at others and other cows sniff at the cow on heat.
- Other cows try to mount the animal which is on heat and she stands and allows them to do so.
- The lips of the vulva become red and swollen.
- A thin, clear discharge of mucous from the vulva opening can be seen, sometimes sticking to the tail and the skin surrounding the vulva .
Service period
The cow is on heat every 18 to 24 days. The heat period lasts between six and 30 hours. The standing heat lasts 12 to 24 hours. This is the best time to serve the animal.
As a rule, animals seen on heat in the morning should be served in the evening, while those seen in the evening should be served in the morning of the following day.
Repeat breeding
Some dairy animals fail to get on heat, show signs of heat irregularly or do not become pregnant after insemination (repeat breeders).
This may be due to abnormal body functioning of the cow, poor management, wrong feeding or failure of the farmer to observe heat.
After three times of unsuccessful inseminations or natural mating, ask a veterinarian to investigate the causes of infertility. The common causes of reduced fertility include failure to detect heat, poor health of animals, poor nutrition, low quality semen and poor insemination procedure.
