After the end of the breeding season, examine all cows and heifers for pregnancy. Since heifers are bred first, they can be examined earlier than cows. Pregnancy checking of heifers can be done 45 to 60 days after the bulls have been removed. If more pregnant heifers are found than are needed for replacements, the heifers that became pregnant last, may be sold as bred replacement heifers. A competent palpator can determine the breeding date quite accurately when cattle are 45 to 110 days into gestation.
Many producers prefer to palpate cows as the calves are weaned in the fall.
Cows are normally worked at this time for treatment of grubs, lice and internal parasites. At this time, cows should be about 150 days pregnant. The chance for an accurate confirmation of breeding date by palpation is lower at this time, but the determination of pregnancy is easier for the less-experienced palpator. The pregnancy determination should be done by a skilled, experienced individual. In most situations, this would be the local large-animal veterinarian.