Menu
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New media
New media comments
New profile posts
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Forums
Cattle Boards
Artificial Insemination (AI) for Cattle
Going back to school (AI class)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Help Support CattleToday:
Message
<blockquote data-quote="RDFF" data-source="post: 1794466" data-attributes="member: 39018"><p>If she was positive on the blood test, she WAS pregnant... but she lost it somewhere along the line. Spontaneous abortion/miscarriage is more common than one might think, especially early in pregnancy. On our dairy, we kept pretty good records, and it was a fairly common "anomaly" for a cow to not "come in" for her next anticipated heat cycle, but then to be back in heat like halfway through to the next one.... all that means is that she did conceive, but lost it shortly after, and then went right back into cycling again.</p><p></p><p>Beefgirl, when I was trained, they had the reproductive tract of both butchered heifers and cows there for us, so you could actually SEE what you were working with as you manipulated the cervix. While still not the same as that of a live animal, I think that helped the learning curve quite a bit initially. Beyond that, I'd suggest that you relax, try not to get nervous, probably best to be "by yourself"... so you don't have the pressure of onlookers you need to impress, etc.</p><p></p><p>I wouldn't suggest "practicing" on your young replacement heifers though... better to practice on some that you DON'T intend to keep as breeding replacements for that, IMO, especially if you're going to be wanting to breed them anytime soon. It IS possible to do some harm to them, if you're not careful enough as you "practice"... they'll likely heal up just fine... but I'd use something that I wasn't hoping to get bred, and for sure not any that I would be wanting to breed anytime soon.</p><p></p><p>My cousin and I both took the same course at the same time. He always seemed to have a bit more "trouble" than I did in getting through the cervix, more so on heifers. I think he was just in too much of a hurry, and he'd then try to rush it, or maybe "force it more"... you could visibly see his frustration... and of course, it was ALWAYS the animal's fault... I expect that lots of times, he'd just give up and inject the semen anyway. He did have a lower first-service conception rate than I did... in the same herd. Over time as he became more experienced, his conception rate improved though too. It's mostly just a matter of relaxing, taking your time, being "gentle", and not letting yourself get worked up and frustrated, regardless of how long it might take you to "thread that needle" properly.</p><p></p><p>Good luck!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="RDFF, post: 1794466, member: 39018"] If she was positive on the blood test, she WAS pregnant... but she lost it somewhere along the line. Spontaneous abortion/miscarriage is more common than one might think, especially early in pregnancy. On our dairy, we kept pretty good records, and it was a fairly common "anomaly" for a cow to not "come in" for her next anticipated heat cycle, but then to be back in heat like halfway through to the next one.... all that means is that she did conceive, but lost it shortly after, and then went right back into cycling again. Beefgirl, when I was trained, they had the reproductive tract of both butchered heifers and cows there for us, so you could actually SEE what you were working with as you manipulated the cervix. While still not the same as that of a live animal, I think that helped the learning curve quite a bit initially. Beyond that, I'd suggest that you relax, try not to get nervous, probably best to be "by yourself"... so you don't have the pressure of onlookers you need to impress, etc. I wouldn't suggest "practicing" on your young replacement heifers though... better to practice on some that you DON'T intend to keep as breeding replacements for that, IMO, especially if you're going to be wanting to breed them anytime soon. It IS possible to do some harm to them, if you're not careful enough as you "practice"... they'll likely heal up just fine... but I'd use something that I wasn't hoping to get bred, and for sure not any that I would be wanting to breed anytime soon. My cousin and I both took the same course at the same time. He always seemed to have a bit more "trouble" than I did in getting through the cervix, more so on heifers. I think he was just in too much of a hurry, and he'd then try to rush it, or maybe "force it more"... you could visibly see his frustration... and of course, it was ALWAYS the animal's fault... I expect that lots of times, he'd just give up and inject the semen anyway. He did have a lower first-service conception rate than I did... in the same herd. Over time as he became more experienced, his conception rate improved though too. It's mostly just a matter of relaxing, taking your time, being "gentle", and not letting yourself get worked up and frustrated, regardless of how long it might take you to "thread that needle" properly. Good luck! [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Cattle Boards
Artificial Insemination (AI) for Cattle
Going back to school (AI class)
Top