AI ? - How long to settle

[2/B or not 2/B]

We inseminate tomorrow (!). My question is how long does the semen remain viable and what is the time window for settling? We plan to turn out our bull 15 days after AI and preg test them by blood draw 30 days after AI. I'd like to adjust that date based on how long it could take them to settle. In theory, it should tell us which settled to AI vs. natural cover since any bred by the bull at that time wouldn't yet register on the first blood test.

A side note: We are using 7-day CoSynch + CIDR and the timeline is slightly different for cows vs. heifers. We've tried to follow everything to the letter, but when it was time to pull the CIDR's from the cows (at 9pm in the freezing dark), one of the cows was missing her CIDR. At the time, I was sure she had lost it and for some reason didn't think to go get a glove and check. We gave her lutalyse anyway and let her go. The next morning, when it was time to work the heifers, we ran her through again and this time I checked thoroughly and found it inside of her. We're going to continue as planned but I kind of screwed that one up didn't I? She got the lute on time but the CIDR was pulled 12 hours late.

This has been interesting. Giving the shots and CIDR's is pretty easy. It's the repeated penning and sorting that's a lot of work.

 

[HomePlaceAngus]

What we do is about 2 weeks after we AI we put a Estrotect scratch off patch on their tail head. If they come into heat again, about 21 days after we AIed them other cows will ride them and the patch turns red. We can AI them a second time right then. A couple days later we turn them out with the bull and put a patch on them in 2 weeks. If after 21 days from the date we did the second AI, the patch is not red, she is bred. After we AI the second time and put a patch on her, the bull or other cows will only ride her if she come into heat again. If she does come into heat the patch will be red and the bull will breed her. 75 days after we put them in with the bull we then blood test only the females that did not take by AI to make sure the bull got them. The answer to your question though is this. The lab we use recomends blood testing 45 days after you AI them or the bull has serviced them. If it comes back positive she is bred. If it comes back negitive or re-test, you would not know if she was bred by the bull or open. without doing another blood lest. I hope I did not make this too confusing. Good Luck :tiphat:

 

[2/B or not 2/B]

Thank you, Home Place. So you're saying you wait and put the bull in no earlier than 21 days and blood test at 45 days, right? Never done this before so just curious what intervals people use to accurately determine the sire without DNA testing or anything like that.

 

[HomePlaceAngus]

We AI a second time if need be at about 21 days so it is more like 23-25 days when we put the bull in. Who is the sire of the calf is determined by what date the calf in born. Keep acruate records. Yes we blood lest any at 45 days, after they have been AIed twice and put in with the bull. Yes calves like people will come early or late but there will be enough difference in the calving date that you will be able to tell. I hope this helps you.

 

[dun]

GnRH causes ovulation of whatever follicle is closest to being ripe and begins another follicular wave.

 

[robert]

Pulling the CIDR the next day won't make any difference, in fact the original cidr protocols called for lute on day 6 and pull cidrs on day 7, but research found that it was an uneccessary trip through the chute and both lute and pull cidr could be don together on day 7.

 

[cow pollinater]

robert nailed it. You're fine.
As far as preg checking, being close to the valley means that you have ample supply to vets that can palpate calves within a day or so. Why not turn your bulls out and let a good vet come up and tell you what you've got?

 

[2/B or not 2/B]

Well, that's great news about the CIDR, thanks! We inseminate today at 3pm. CP, having them palpated would be great. Typically we blood test because it's only a couple dollars per test and we can do it on the weekend without having to take extra time off work or pay for the farm call. I've yet to find the ideal vet. I really like the one we have, but she's really busy and hard to get a hold of which is a drawback.