Cattle & buffalo gestation calculator
Enter the service date. Get the due date, the dry-off date, and the checks in between. Buffalo gestation is calculated separately, because it is longer.
How long is a cow pregnant?
A cow's gestation averages 283 days — a little over nine months — though it varies by breed. Jerseys tend to run slightly shorter at around 279 days; Holstein Friesians slightly longer at about 287. Bull calves are carried a day or two longer than heifer calves, and twins usually arrive early.
How long is a buffalo pregnant?
Buffalo gestation is meaningfully longer than cattle — around 310 days for Nili Ravi and Murrah, and up to 315 for Kundi. That is roughly ten months and one week, about a month longer than a cow.
This is exactly the sort of difference most dairy software gets wrong by treating buffalo as a cattle record with a different label, and it is why a due date calculated on a 283-day assumption will have you expecting a buffalo calf a month early.
What the other dates mean
Pregnancy check
Rectal palpation is reliable from about day 35 after service; ultrasound can confirm from around day 28. Checking early means an open animal can be re-served in the same cycle instead of losing three weeks.
Dry-off
Sixty days before calving is the standard, giving the udder time to regenerate before the next lactation. Shorter dry periods reduce next-lactation yield; much longer ones waste feed on a non-producing animal.
Steaming up
The last three weeks before calving — increased concentrate to prepare the rumen for lactation and reduce the risk of ketosis and milk fever in the transition period.
Stop calculating this one animal at a time
Lactra tracks every service, every pregnancy check and every expected calving across the whole herd — and tells you each morning who needs attention.