beefgirl
Well-known member
Taking a three day AI class next week. Any words of wisdom welcome. My AI guy retiring but he was kind enough to offer to give me a quick lesson so I wasn't going to turn that down. Pretty cool.
Going back to school (AI class)
- Thread starter beefgirl
- Start date
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SBMF 2015
Well-known member
Don't get discouraged. Like most things cattle the key is patience and repetition.
The more you do the better you'll get.
StrojanHerefords
Well-known member
Make sure you are going into the right holes and don't strike gold. Before breeding for real, I would practice on little squirming heifers to get a sense of how things really are. Old butcher cows are easy.
wbvs58
Well-known member
Don't put pressure on yourself.
Ken
Ken
OP
OP
beefgirl
Well-known member
I'm hoping to have good success rate with my own and follow the am pm rule.
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beefgirl
Well-known member
Easier said than done but I'll do my best. Thx.
50/50Farms
Well-known member
You'll have the same work to do, whatever the task, whether you stress yourself out over it or not.
OP
OP
beefgirl
Well-known member
I've got 3 replacement heifers to practice on. Hopefully I'll have it down by the time I want to breed them in May or June. Thanks.
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beefgirl
Well-known member
Good point. I'll have to remember that one.
SBMF 2015
Well-known member
Yes, natural heats, keeping the routine the same, and keeping them quiet makes all the difference.
SBMF 2015
Well-known member
Everyone I know that A.I.s says that hfrs are way different than cows. Most of them would rather bred cows. A hfrs tract has not been "straightened" yet and it can be pretty frustrating to get through the three rings of their cervix.
OP
OP
beefgirl
Well-known member
My AI guy says he has a harder time settling heifers than cows. Makes sense.
Son of Butch
Well-known member
That's odd, 100s of thousands of AI rep reports statistically heifers have significantly higher 1st service conception % vs cows.
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Dsth
Well-known member
Great to hear that you are planning to use some of the best bulls in the business with AI. some really good advice so far. I agree with other post that cows are generally easier to get through the cervix than heifers. heifers cervix is much smaller and as a result generally harder to get through. on the other hand, heifers generally have a higher conception rate than cows. One thing that I remember from my AI class from about 40 years ago and still use today is that cows/heifers can sense when you are frustrated or tense. if you are having trouble for one of the many reasons that most of us have had regardless of how long we have been doing it, and you find yourself a little tense, just take a minute to relax and calm yourself down. don't be shy about asking questions as you go through your class. hope you have a great instructor and breeding AI will be an enjoyable and rewarding experience for you. Good luck
OP
OP
beefgirl
Well-known member
Thanks everyone for all the great advice. I of course picked the hardest model they had available in the classroom but I managed to get through all three rings so thought I had it made until we got to the real deal. Well I've got two more days to practice. I'm not giving up yet. 12 or 13 in the class and I was surprised that there were only 3 men in the class. The rest were mostly young gals and a couple middle aged women.
OP
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beefgirl
Well-known member
Day #2 much better. I think I'll be alright just need to practice as much as I can so I'll be ready when my cows are ready to breed in a couple months.
GoWyo
Well-known member
I figured out when I am having trouble finding the hole in the cervix, just need to get a firmer grip on it and get the heel of my hand and pinky right at the front of it. Pushing it forward helps get the gun past the blind pockets and then pull back to put the cervix on the gun. Trickiest ones for me are the ones in a "C" shape. Really have to work at it to straighten them out one handed.
diana55
Well-known member
Easier if you are relaxed. I've been AI'ing our cows for 20 years (yes, I'm old…ish). I have a few wines first (seriously) …it helps (me, not the cow).
some are just hard, not all cervix are the same. I have a picture in my mind of what cow should be like inside, so close my eyes and visualise. Plenty practice helps. Good luck.
some are just hard, not all cervix are the same. I have a picture in my mind of what cow should be like inside, so close my eyes and visualise. Plenty practice helps. Good luck.
Son of Butch
Well-known member
Here's some cheery news to help you decide what is old.
2021 usa median age 38.8
life expectancy women 81.1 and peaked in 2019 at 81.4
life expectancy men 76.1 and peaked in 2014 at 76.5
So statistically if you're 39 you are older than average and if male over 1/2 way to dead, but females aren't 1/2 way to dead until 41
See, now doesn't that make you feel better?
Rule of thumb: old is 15 yrs older than your current age.
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