A.I. Questions

[ThomasonLivestock]

Im starting a livestock company and need a little help with either finding an A.I. person who will come out and do the insimination or i need to kjnow theregs on keeping a tank at the house so i could do it my self. i cant have a bull not enough acerage for one and i dont have a pen for one. I have one open heifer and her brother who is cut. With that being said im hoping to keep the steer long enough for him to help me figure out when she goes into standing estrus. i understand the window for insemination is narrow once she is standing so i would prefer to have a tank at the house so i can catch it ass soon as she is standing. it would be nice to pay an A.I pro to come out and show me more about insemination the first time. any and all advice would help me a great deal. i know alot of you are not from california and may not know the regs here but my ears are open anyhow thanks.

 

[novatech]

Look around for a place to take an AI course. They will fill you in on eerything you need to know.

 

[pdfangus]

go to some local farms and ask about an AI tech....
it takes a few to get the knack of proper AI technique.
you would be money ahead to pay somone who know what they are doing....
most any dairy in our area has someone who breeds cows. many of the larger beef operations especially the purebred ones have a qualified technician as well.
I support you learning....but with one cow it will be a while before you are good.

 

[cow pollinater]

Is the brother her twin or are we talking a year apart from the same parents? If they're twins then your heifer is almost certainly a freemartin and won't breed back.
Where are you at in CA? I'm in the Visalia area which is half way in between Bakersfeild and Fresno. If you're close by you can run her with mine for awhile as long as she's not to crazy and not a freemartin and I'll breed her for you.

 

[ThomasonLivestock]

Thank you all, Cow pollinater im in merced not a bad little drive and appreciate you offering that to me. They share the same dad but different moms they are about 9months right now about 600 pounds im guessing. They are natually polled herefords i got them out of kingsburg about 4 months ago. If i do take you up on your offer let me know what you would want them vaccinated with. they only share pasture with my horses and dont have access to other livestock. Also if you would not mind id like to come out and see your operation and pick your brain alittle bit. i can fly into visallia airport if you didnt mind runnin out to meet me. if that works for ya let me know.

 

[cow pollinater]

Nine months is pretty young to breed. I'd rather see you wait until spring agewise. I shoot for fourteen months but some of the younger stuff is a year old and they do fine as long as I'm carefull on bull selection.
What kind of grass are they on? Irrigated or dry native grass that's green over the winter? We want to time your breeding so that she calves about a month and a half before your grass gets strong. She needs to wait a few months before we think about breeding her but we need to know what she's going to have to eat as you will lose alot of money calving at the wrong time for your grass in CA. It would be cheaper to take the loss upfront and feed her for a few extra months than to have her calve at a time that doesn't fit your grass.
I know a few guys up in Merced that breed alot of cows. They would charge you(I usually don't for one or two) but it would be less than the cost of diesel to haul her down here. If you don't mind hauling then you can bring her down this spring and I'm happy to do it for you.
If you'd like to see my place, we need to plan on a day when it's to wet to work but not to wet to get up to the ranch. :lol: There's not much to see here in the valley as my lower stuff just supports the foothill ranch but I'll help however I can. I don't hear well so phone calls are hard but you can PM me questions anytime you want and I'll give you an answer that fits for CA as best as I can.

 

[ThomasonLivestock]

Thanks again.ill be in contact with you probally quite a bit if you dont mind. i figured she was still young but wanted to throw the question out so i can have a plan when the time comes. If you could put me in contact some breeders here in merced that would be great, as for pasture its native grass thats irrigated it does stay green through the winter and since i dont have alot on it, it does pretty well. I put a crystal lick out there a few months ago but they never touched it dont know why but they are doing pretty well on just grass. i dont mind suplamenting if they need it since i only have 2 right now it wont kill me but the plan is to take the steer to auction and with the money i get from him buy 2 more calves and keep 'doing it so i can build my herd. I have hears that cross cows do better at auction also do well fo calving is this true? if so what would be a good breed to cross with. Thanks again your knowlege and insight is priceless.

 

[HOSS]

CP, that's a heck of an offer to help a stranger that way. My hat is off to you. You are representing cattlemen well.

 

[Ryder]

CP, that's a heck of an offer to help a stranger that way. My hat is off to you. You are representing cattlemen well.

Ditto what Hoss said. :nod:

 

[brihop]

triple ditto... very generous of you!

 

[cow pollinater]

Everyone starts somewhere and reinventing the wheel is usualy somewhat of a waste of time so I like to help where I can. I don't have alot to offer but I can breed a heifer and give some advice... Both are nearly free to me and will help someone with ambition to do what I'm doing. I benefit in that someone else sees value in my chosen line of work and that gives me great satisfaction... A win all the way around.

 

[Anonymous]

How selfish of you. ;-)

 

[Bigfoot]

This is all very telling about cp's personality. Just what kind of a guy are we dealing with here. I bet he swerves to miss squirrels. Anonymous donations to charity. Supports school fundraisres.

 

[cow pollinater]

This is all very telling about cp's personality. Just what kind of a guy are we dealing with here. I bet he swerves to miss squirrels. Anonymous donations to charity. Supports school fundraisres.

:lol: :clap: Well done! Just to clear up any misconceptions:
I hate squirrels. we get the ground squirrels here and I'll dump the trailer to get one and only consider it a loss if I miss.
Guilty as he!! on #2
I don't support the local schools at all. Mine are homeschooled and I rant continously about what a failure the public schools are to the point where I've lost a few freinds who's kids attend pubic school, as I call it.

 

[Chris H]

Thanks again.ill be in contact with you probally quite a bit if you dont mind. i figured she was still young but wanted to throw the question out so i can have a plan when the time comes. If you could put me in contact some breeders here in merced that would be great, as for pasture its native grass thats irrigated it does stay green through the winter and since i dont have alot on it, it does pretty well. I put a crystal lick out there a few months ago but they never touched it dont know why but they are doing pretty well on just grass. i dont mind suplamenting if they need it since i only have 2 right now it wont kill me but the plan is to take the steer to auction and with the money i get from him buy 2 more calves and keep 'doing it so i can build my herd. I have hears that cross cows do better at auction also do well fo calving is this true? if so what would be a good breed to cross with. Thanks again your knowlege and insight is priceless.

We raise registered Herefords. Crossbreds do sell better unless you find someone who wants the registered cattle. Here, in OH, one of the top crosses is black baldies -- Angus x Hereford. Those do well to the north, east, & west of us. As you head south into KY, a Charolais or Brahma bull on those Herefords starts to get popular.
I don't know how popular those crosses are in your area. Look around, go to the salebarn, check ads for cattle for sale. That will give you an idea what to use to breed your heifer.

 

[chippie]

Good advice and kudos to cowpollinator!

We don't own a bull and breed AI. The heifers are bred starting at 14 months with the goal for them to calve when they are two.
Good luck with your venture. The good thing about AI is that you can use a better quality bull than you could probably afford to buy.
Good luck with your venture

 

[ThomasonLivestock]

Thanks chris, i go up to the auction yard when i have time to. There are alot of dirfferent types seems the feedlot guys dont care what it is as long as they dont have to put em hot feed for too long. with the price of corn these days they are liking quick turn cows. i even know guys that have commodity bins full of culled jellie bellies. i am lucky enough to fly Ric Kirby of Kirby inc. from time to time, so i get to fly all over the western states and see different opperations from diary to feed lots. but all those guys dont really have much advice for me cause they are all feeding 4 to 6 thousand head. i feel silly askin them questions. but thanks again i have seen some black baldies out at the sale barn and have thought about going that way but right now i will take all the help i can get.