40 Million cells or multiple straws/breedings

[Air gator]

What would be the most effective strategy? You have a heifer that has missed on A.I. and the season is getting late.
What would work better? Breeding her with 40 million cell straws or inseminating her with 2 straws (with normal number of cells) or breeding her twice (and at what intervals?).

 

[dun]

Turn her in with a bull

 

[Air gator]

What would work better? Breeding her with 40 million cell straws or inseminating her with 2 straws (with normal number of cells) or breeding her twice (and at what intervals?).

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Thousands of cows are bred with half cc straws. If she didn't breed with a half cc straw what make you think more will help?

 

[wbvs58]

I'd breed her twice, the 1st when you think she is right and the 2nd the next am or pm regardless of whether she is still standing.

Ken

 

[Air gator]

Thanks, Ken.

 

[MRRherefords]

Turn her in with a bull

x2 :nod:

 

[farmerjan]

I often have suggested to farmers to do 2 breedings when I was doing relief for SS years ago. Once when you see them and then again the next am or pm as wbvs58 said. Also, I would give her a shot of gnrh. This is if you don't have access to a bull, which will of course get her several times during her heat if he can. I prefer the 2x at about 12 hours or so apart. Some seem to release the egg later in the heat cycle and too early a breeding may miss it. My guernseys were really bad for ovulating late after they were past standing heat.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I'd breed her twice, the 1st when you think she is right and the 2nd the next am or pm regardless of whether she is still standing.

Ken

I totally agree, but like fj recommended, I would give a GNRH with the first breeding.

 

[suzorse]

I breed all heifers while in standing heat , and have had 100% success that way , but it is only 1 or 2 a year
Suzanne

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Suzanne, do your heifers stand for 3 hours or 12 hours normally?

 

[Air gator]

Thank you Farmer Jan, Jeanne and Suzorse. I have a 4 month old bull calf who has been helping with heat detection so maybe I will do OK.

 

[SPH]

Turn her in with a bull

This is the most logical choice! Why waste time and money on a female that will not stick to AI when the bull can settle her? Turn her out with the bull, if she settles to calve early in your program then attempt AI with her the next year. This is why we sync and only do 1 heat cycle with our AI group because if they don't come in heat or settle to the AI service the bull will likely settle them on the next heat cycle and she'll hopefully calve early enough she may get another shot at AI the next breeding season. We had a huge gap between our last 2 calves this year with the next to last calf on April 10th and the last calf on May 30th. If that last cow doesn't breed up to about May 1 next year she probably is going to town. She usually weans an above average calf but having cows that are just calving the same time you turn the bull out is a pain in the arse for us. Like to keep our calving season to start late Feb and be done before May 1.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Some people don't have a bull to "turn out" to.
SPH, if you don't want late calves, why not pull the bull on last calving date that works for you?

 

[Stocker Steve]

if you don't want late calves, why not pull the bull on last calving date that works for you?

Higher cull value

 

[SPH]

if you don't want late calves, why not pull the bull on last calving date that works for you?

Higher cull value

That is exactly why. We usually pull the bull a little sooner than we did last year. We don't like calving in May but usually leave the bull out till about a May15-20th at the latest calving date. If we have to reduce the number of females a late calving bred cow is going to bring you more than an open cow because someone out there will be OK with calving her later. One of our bull buyers doesn't even turn his bulls out till July 1 and I know there are some guys that won't even start calving till late April or May because they don't want to mess with calving the same time they are in the field planting or deal with the snow and mud in March or earlier.

This cow in particular we didn't see the bull breed her so all we had was the vet's estimate on palpation at preg checking last fall which he had her at least a month earlier but obviously was wrong on his estimation. We've had cows in the past calve in early May that have breed back to calve as early as late March the following year so she will be given a chance to breed back up.

 

[cow pollinater]

What would be the most effective strategy? You have a heifer that has missed on A.I. and the season is getting late.
What would work better? Breeding her with 40 million cell straws or inseminating her with 2 straws (with normal number of cells) or breeding her twice (and at what intervals?).

I'd breed twice. Once a couple hours into standing heat and again twelve hours after, given these options. "double charged" straws are just a sales pitch and should send you running because they usually happen in response to fertility problems.

 

[Air gator]

Thanks, Cow Pollinator...I was waiting to hear what you thought. A friend was also telling me that bulls with really high SC can also have problems with their semen. What is your experience with HP epds? Thanks.

 

[cow pollinater]

Thanks, Cow Pollinator...I was waiting to hear what you thought. A friend was also telling me that bulls with really high SC can also have problems with their semen. What is your experience with HP epds? Thanks.

The high SC deal is a new one on me. I've never payed attention to that one so there might be something there but I've never seen anything that made me link the two. I'm not on the production side, I just know what I see on the user side of things and what I do hear from people on the production side.
On HP, EPD's, I don't pay a whole lot of attention unless I see extremes either way. Better is always better but I don't believe it unless I know the pedigree has it on both sides or it's high accuracy. I don't believe there is a link between it and SC.