Dexter cattle

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Kerry

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I was curious if anyone out there who raises Dexter cattle, lives in Michigan? I live in St. Clair County, Michigan and would like to breed my heifer in the near future but am having a hard time finding a breeder who could help me out who does not live a couple hundred miles from my house.
 
Kerry":1imikz9q said:
I was curious if anyone out there who raises Dexter cattle, lives in Michigan? I live in St. Clair County, Michigan and would like to breed my heifer in the near future but am having a hard time finding a breeder who could help me out who does not live a couple hundred miles from my house.
Why don't you AI her.
 
I have been pondering that option also, my problem there is that my vet does not do that and as far as I know there are no other livestock vets in my area. He said he may be able to find someone who could do that and I will check into that further. My other problem is that I only have one cow and the vet said with one cow it will be hard to determine when she is in heat and when the right time to AI her would be. She has only come into heat once, I expect any day she will be in heat again and from what I have been reading, I think I could pin down the time to do the AI but then again, I have never been around cattle, Kacy is my first cow. There was a posting the other day about AI and I did learn a lot from that website so it does not sound as difficult determining when the AI should occur as my vet was saying, but then again, I know nothing about this.
 
Kerry":1wy72gp2 said:
I have been pondering that option also, my problem there is that my vet does not do that and as far as I know there are no other livestock vets in my area. He said he may be able to find someone who could do that and I will check into that further. My other problem is that I only have one cow and the vet said with one cow it will be hard to determine when she is in heat and when the right time to AI her would be. She has only come into heat once, I expect any day she will be in heat again and from what I have been reading, I think I could pin down the time to do the AI but then again, I have never been around cattle, Kacy is my first cow. There was a posting the other day about AI and I did learn a lot from that website so it does not sound as difficult determining when the AI should occur as my vet was saying, but then again, I know nothing about this.

Don't underestimate the precision for A.I.ing an animal. Cows start cycling about 21 days after last heat and ready to re-breed 60-75 days after calving). With only one cow, a human detecting her optimal breeding time is significantly less accurate than having a gomer cow/steer or a bull around to do it for you. If the actual insemination is not done at the proper window at ovulation, it won't take and you have to try again.

Check with the Animal Science Department (if they have one) at Michigan State University or University of Michigan. Also, check with the Department of Veterinary Science (or similar agency) at the State of Michigan. One or more of these agencies should be able to provide you with the name(s) of certified A.I. Technicians or Vets that do this for you.

On a sidebar, when we A.I. one of our Longhorns, we take her several days before expected ovulation to the A.I. Facility and leave her there until she ovulates and then they A.I. her. They are the "experts."

:D
 

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