Whether by natural means or artificial insemination, it is primordial for the farmer to know when and how long the cow has been in estrus to plan the pregnancies and calving’s. There are many different methods of detecting estrus in cows. The first method often seen is adding a product, be it paint and chalk or a capsule filled with a coloured dye, to the tail head of the cow. The paint is put on the cow and covered in chalk of a different colour; when …show more content…
For example, both gestation periods are nine months long and the estrus cycle is the same; lasting an average of 21 days. There are also differences like the type of placenta. Humans have a discoid shaped placenta, whereas cows have a cotyledonary placenta which is covered in cotyledons; 4 rows of approximately 15 per uterine horn. There are many methods employed to detect if a cow is pregnant. Trans rectal palpation of the uterine horns to determine if one is larger than the other and presence of fluid in the larger one is a method that in less invasive and used often. There is also the palpation of the amniotic vesicle by “placing all four fingers dorsally and the thumb ventrally along the greater curvature of the horn”. After 60 days, the amniotic vesicle becomes flaccid which makes direct palpation of the fetus possible. Adapted nutrition is important in any gestating female. As for cows, their nutritional needs are similar to their maintenance needs in early gestation. As they approach calving, cows need more protein and even more energy when they are lactating. Adding minerals like calcium, sodium and potassium to the feed is also very important as well as having clean, fresh water available at all