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Anonymous
I am considering taking AI classes for my heifers. We dont have a bull and are new to this. Is it worth the trouble to AI by myself? What does an AI tech charge? Or is it easier to just purchase a bull?
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Not sure about technician charges. With AI you need a tank or someone that will store the semen for year. Tank will cost you around 50-60 a year to keep it charged with ln2. A bull brings his own set of baggage. Different managment then when running just cows, possibly more fence repair plus another mouth to feed. Semen runs from a low of 12 to as much as you're willing to spend. With the bull he will do the heat detecting, with AI you have to be willing to comit to doing the heat detection and adjust your schedule to the cows for breeding. With AI you know when the cow is due to calve, with a bull you may not observe the breeding so the calving date isn;t near as easy to predict.
This is the first year we've had a bull on the place. If I still had the manual dexterity that I used to have we would still be 100% AI.
dun
This is the first year we've had a bull on the place. If I still had the manual dexterity that I used to have we would still be 100% AI.
dun
Proverbs 12:10
Well-known member
If you don't have a large herd and want to improve genetics, AI is the way to go. You have more flexibility doing it yourself than with a tech. AI tech has to be on-call and can't always be there for every heat. If you take the AI class take one that offers palpation training as well. That can come in handy and when you get good at it you don't have to rely on the vet. I reccommend Bovine Elite in College Station...they do both. Otherwise, the bull is less work...he don't mind working 24/7 as heat detector and AI technician.
novatech
Well-known member
Ditto everything above.B&LFarms":37qwwdfw said:
If you are going to be doing this yourself, you need to make sure that your facilities are going to work for you. You have to be able to bring that heifer into the chute or box buy yourself, sometimes in the dark. I even take new heifers thru the chut on a dry run just to show them they will not be hurt. When it's for real, it is uaually a calm situation.
B&LFarms":3d8w79dp said:
Yes, it's easier to buy a bull, but if you're serious about raising registered Angus cattle, you need to have an AI program. Almost half the Angus calves registered last year were either AI or ET. We get to several Angus sales a year and the pasture bred females are discounted by the buyers compared to AI sired and AI bred. Try to get out to some sales this spring and take note of prices. I think both the Mid-Tex and Central Texas Angus groups have sales.
http://texasangus.com/regional.html
In your situation, I'd first check with the local vets and see if any of them do AI work and would store the semen for you. And what they charge. Or if they stock any Angus semen you might be interested in using. My vet's husband used to do AI work for their clients. He maintained a pretty good stock of Angus bulls, especially easy calving bulls.
I imagine you can find an AI school, but it takes practice to get good. It's harder for a small breeder to get that practice. But if you plan to expand, it might be the best way to go in the long run. Good luck....
stephE
Well-known member
Personally, i use a tech. That way you don't have anything to maintain or worry about(tanks/bulls/ect.). And it really doesn't cost that much, our Select Sires guy charges about $14 a head and the average seman costs $20-$30. Its a really good deal if you don't have a lot of animals to breed.
stephE
Well-known member
Personally, i use a tech. That way you don't have anything to maintain or worry about(tanks/bulls/ect.). And it really doesn't cost that much, our Select Sires guy charges about $14 a head and the average seman costs $20-$30. Its a really good deal if you don't have a lot of animals to breed.
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Anonymous
I live in Chioc, Tx which is northwest of Decatur, Tx. Does anyone know of any AI techs in the area?
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Anonymous
sorry I meant CHICO, TX...... 
Frankie":h94ukexb said:
if you're serious about raising registered cattle like everyone else's this might be true. it heavily depends on what you are doing. want to follow the crowd? use AI for sure. have a specific plan? use AI or home raised bulls. a local bull will probably be more adapted to the environment and if it's a bull you raised, the calves will probably be more uniform and predictable.
really brave? close the herd and use only the animals you produce.
factors to consider: semen and storage costs, cost of CIDRs and shots, cost of AI certificates, time spent breeding and synchronizing, calving window, bull purchase price, feed costs.
the most important factor might be to know where you want to go/end up. if you have an overall plan (includes a destination, not just a direction) for your breeding, you probably already know which you need to do. if you dont, just AI and multiply popular genetics like most people do.
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Anonymous
What if anything do I need to watch out for in doing the line breeding thing? If I have good quality heifers and bulls then I should be good right???
B&LFarms":3gorsddy said:
Vernon Friedrich is giving two AI/palpation courses at Gainesville, TX. One in March and one in May. Then one in Wichita Falls in October. Contact him at 940-665-4952. He's an ABS rep. He might do your AI for you if you don't want to go to a school. Or at least he might know someone in your area who does AI for the public. Good luck....
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Anonymous
thanks
vs_cattle
Well-known member
AI Tech Cahrge Different From Region Here In Central California 35 Will Get The Job Done, But The Bred Rate In AI Is Not Yet 100% So You Will End Up Having Open Heifer Or Heifers That Calve Later Then The Rest Of The Group Another Thing You Can Consider Is Doin AI But Leasing A Bull To Do Clean Up (Breed Any Open Heifer)
The one thing no one mentioned here is the potential for you to have calves coming all over the calendar with AI. If you don't clean up the AI'ing with a bull then you will set back animals and potentially have them calving in all different times of the year and in different climates. Furthermore, in order to compare cows and calves you need to have them all calving around the same time, whether it be spring or fall, so you will know how they do given the same environmental/forage conditions. Having the calves in one given season will also be easier on you to manage, and it will be easier on the animals depending on the breeding and calving season chosen.
You can delay production time of a female by trying multiple times to get her to take AI, when you could have her 2 months bred (if the AI didn't take). You can also send a good female packing....assuming you couldn't get her bred AI, where as a clean up bull, after the first AI, would finish the job and keep the cow in production, and keep you from culling a non-cull cause you couldn't get her to breed AI due to bad technique, bad semen, infection..etc, etc,.
You can delay production time of a female by trying multiple times to get her to take AI, when you could have her 2 months bred (if the AI didn't take). You can also send a good female packing....assuming you couldn't get her bred AI, where as a clean up bull, after the first AI, would finish the job and keep the cow in production, and keep you from culling a non-cull cause you couldn't get her to breed AI due to bad technique, bad semen, infection..etc, etc,.
