AI costs

[KANSAS]

Ok... assume you want to inseminate 20 head at $50.00/straw what are the assumed costs above and beyond the semen price per head?

-At a quantity of 20 head I must assume it is cheaper to have a vet do it than do it on your own.

-I am really just curious and at this point in time have no intention of AI'ing. However, it seems like a whole bunch of people are doing it these days, and I can only assume that maybe it is easier than I previously thought.

Thanks in advance,

Kansas

 

[Scotty]

If you want to AI get a vet. It takes time and practice to et good and you need to do it aoften to keep your touch. 50 dollar for a comercial outfit is way to high. Some people offer commercial semen at 10 dollars a straw.

 

[lazy ace]

If you want to AI contact a Semen company rep. (ABS, Genex, Select Sires, or Accelerated genetics.) They all have web sites and provide good service. We have been AIing since the technology was commercially available. It is a great way to use bulls that you can't use naturally.

have a cold one

lazy ace

 

[Dee]

The cost depends on a lot of things. Are you going to synchro them? Use CIDR's, Lute, MGA, etc? CIDR's and the shots aren't cheap, and then you have to run them thru the chute to give shots, insert, and pull CIDR's. Or heat detect, which doesn't cost anything but some time, a pad of paper and a pencil. My AI tech charged me $4.00 to arm my heifers last year. Also storage on the semen if I don't buy it thru his company. And if you don't have a chute, rent on the breeding box. I have AI'd all my commercials since I got cows 4 years ago. It's nice to have so many bull choices.

 

[KANSAS]

I was just using 50.00 as an example. With a good bull being around 2000.00 +/- I didnt know if it would be better for me just to inseminate the first couple of years until I learned more about the industry.

Thanks..

 

[Cattleman200]

I didnt know if it would be better for me just to inseminate the first couple of years until I learned more about the industry.

I would suggest just the opposite. I would suggest have someone with the knowledge to help you pick a good bull to use for the first two to three years then as you have more experience and knowledge of the industry maybe try AI. If you have mature females I can put you on some $5-$8 per straw semen. Another factor is that you will need a bull to clean up with anyway. A few females (maybe 20%-30%) might not get settled and would either have to be run with a bull or AI`ed a second or third time or culled.

The cost depends on a lot of things. Are you going to synchro them? Use CIDR's, Lute, MGA, etc? CIDR's and the shots aren't cheap, and then you have to run them thru the chute to give shots, insert, and pull CIDR's. Or heat detect, which doesn't cost anything but some time, a pad of paper and a pencil. My AI tech charged me $4.00 to arm my heifers last year. Also storage on the semen if I don't buy it thru his company. And if you don't have a chute, rent on the breeding box.

Dee is correct also about breeding costs. If you sync your females to AI most people use CIDR`s (around $9-$10 new each) A couple of shots of Lutalyse ( from $4.50- $6.00) A variety of other vaccinations may also be used based on your AI tech`s suggestions. Also you would need to have them vet checked to make sure their not cystic or have any other breeding problems. Would be up to you personally if you want to AI. Its a great way to go but I would suggest knowing all you can before you jump in too deep. Just my thoughts. Best of Luck, Bill

Circle H Ranch
http://www.chrlimousin.com

 

[dun]

To get to basics, you don;t have to synch the cows but you do have to heat detect a minimum of twice a day for at least 1/2 an hour each time. If you have a technician AI for you, synching may be your best bet, but unless you want a bull around you'll have to call the tech back to rebreed those that didn;t settle the first time. Depending on the weather, the tech and your heat detection abilities you should achieve a minimum of 60-65% first service conceptions but closer to 85-90%. Any cow that doesn;t settle to the second breeding needs to be culled. There are some top bulls available from around $12 to $20 a straw and some can be gotten for less if you buy in quantities. A clean up bull is not a necessity. Until this year when we got a bull because of health/injury/age of our technician we had 100% comception and our calving season ran around 45-50 days. Granted in the past 8 years or so we've been down in the 20-35 head range. Before that in the over hundred range occasioanlly we would get a cow thatwouldn;t settle, I would guess around less then 1% a year.
For most people when you get into the 20-25 head and up range, a bull is a viable backup. Only the top cows are bred to specific top AI bulls and the rest are serviced by the herd bull.
I don;t know what the costs are for synchingg. The only time we use a heat stimulant is in a cow that for one reason or another hasn;t started cycling by around 45 days post calving, then we give a shot of GnRH and a week later PGF2, runs around $5-6 for both shots.
If someone goes into AI believing it will work and puts forth the effort, barring some strange occurence, it will work and work well at improving the genetics of the herd.

dun

 

[blk mule]

Good heat detection, good timing, good semen, good AI tech. = Good calf. NO BULL !!

 

[Alan]

Just because I have been researching and purchasing equipment. Here are the cost on the other end... doing it yourself. During the last five breeding seasons I rented a bull one year then bought my own and kept him for four years.

I just bought a new semen tank that holds about 700 straws for $460. I'm finding 3 day AI classes for about $400, A univeristy offers a 4 hour class for $260, I can't imagine trying to learn AI in 4 hrs. It cost $60 to fill the tank and $30 three times a year to charge it (top it off). I'm finding lots of good bulls for $15 to $30 per straw. I will have to buy a clean up bull but I only plan to have him for about 4 months and ship him so no real cost with the clean up bull. Throw in heat detection and shots, but I will not have any tech or vet cost. I have an inital financal expense but, I only buy the tank once and the class once (I hope), for less money than a bull would cost. And I don't have to replace my bull every 3 or for years as his heifers get to breeding age.

On the other side if you keep a bull for 20 cows, I learned that in a small herd, like I have, the bull will work about 2 months of the year and eat twice as much as a cow the rest of the time. So I sold my bull and made room for to more good cows.

Just some of my thoughts on AI and the small herd.

Alan

 

[KANSAS]

Great responses. Thank you all!!!!!

 

[Susie David]

Good post Alan...been toying with the idea of taking AI classes myself and saving the tech costs...the best man around here charges $80.00 for the farm visit whether he does one cow or a dozen, if more than one he just charges for the semen. We ate our last bull and this year we only had one re-do with AI.
Dave Mc

 

[VanC]

To me, the biggest cost of AI vs a bull would be the added time and labor for heat detection, plus the fact that someone other than the bull is doing the actual breeding. How one goes about putting a price tag on these things can vary greatly. Depends on each persons situation.

Like most things, if planned well and done right it can be a great benefit. If not, it can turn out to be a costly disaster.