AI Dairy vs Beef

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Double R Ranch

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What is your experience with synchronization and AI breeding differences between the two? I haven't bred a dairy cow in many years via AI. I'm sure things have improved since those days. What is your synchronization protocols (if any) for dairy cattle and breeding (AI) methods/timing that has been pretty successful for you? I am pushing harder each day to get a dairy cow here on the ranch and will be doing AI for her when the day comes. Wanting to get a bit of current information from people who are doing it successfully.
Thanks in advance!
 
I only did AI on one dairy cow so I can't say much but I've heard it's a lot harder to get them to catch compared to beef cows. If I was trying to give myself best chance would be to AI on natural heats. And use the am/pm rule.
 
I have done AI on several of my dairy nurse cows over the years. I have done some of the beef animals. Have a tank full of semen at this point in time and want to do more of the beef animals but they are often out on pastures with no facilities...
I don't think dairy is hard to get bred. Often see better heats in dairy because beef often seem to come in early a.m. or late eve.... Often do not see the activity and beef do not seem to stand as long in what I have seen/done.
To give myself a better chance to settle one; I also SORT OF do the a.m./p.m. rule.... BUT ... I will spend the time and breed twice... don't have to use $50-75 / straw semen... use a young sire out of a proven good sire you like and often the cost is $20-30/straw at most. I breed twice... once after I see them in heat for a couple hours ... see them first thing in the morning, breed around noon, and again late evening... or wait til early the next morning. In the guernseys, it seems they like to ovulate late...real late, in their heats, and often breeding early is a waste of time. Or if you go the a.m. / p.m. route... then you see them in the morning, breed in afternoon/eve... see them in the eve, breed in the morning. I'd rather hit them with 2 straws 8-15 hours apart, and feel more confident that they will ovulate in that time frame and the semen is viable.
Or you can go with breeding and then giving a shot of gnrh which will "push along" their releasing an egg....
I much prefer to use natural heats... but there have been a couple over the years that have been given shots because I can't seem to catch them in heat.... success has been 30-50% for me... natural heats I usually run 50-75% on first service. It just depends on how regular the heats are and knowing when they actually start to come in... I use K-Mars because that is what I am used to using... I start with them about 6 weeks ahead if I don't observe heats... try to get a "line on when " they are coming into heat... there are some that may only stand a few times... so you need to know WHEN before you try to breed them unless they come into a full raging heat and you just go on and breed them right then....
Skill of the tech is important too... I am mediocre in skill I would say.... some I just can't get... and I am better on cows than heifers, and so many say heifers are easier....
 

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