Increasing AI success
- Thread starter Arkieman
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certherfbeef
Well-known member
Heat detection.
Live with the cows while AIing. Flawless heat detection is my answer. And remember that the patches and cidrs and lute are only a tool. All are worthless if you don't watch your cows to know WHEN they were standing.
Live with the cows while AIing. Flawless heat detection is my answer. And remember that the patches and cidrs and lute are only a tool. All are worthless if you don't watch your cows to know WHEN they were standing.
endebt
Well-known member
I have to agree. Heat detection is the most important thing. Also don't do any thing except A I ing when in the chute. Don't give shots or chg ear tags. The calmer the cows can be kept the better. Hope this helps.
The best way of improving your AI conception rates is to make sure your health program is spot on, your cows condition is on a rising plane from calving to breeding and the rest is down to heat detection and practice. Semen quality also plays a big role, but if you stick to the well known studs that should not be a factor.
Doesn't matter how long you've been doing it you will always get one where you struggle for 15 minutes and still not be sure where you've deposited the semen.
On the flipside some of those will settle and leave you wondering why they did while some of the others that were very easy and you were very sure they would settle, didn't.
Doesn't matter how long you've been doing it you will always get one where you struggle for 15 minutes and still not be sure where you've deposited the semen.
On the flipside some of those will settle and leave you wondering why they did while some of the others that were very easy and you were very sure they would settle, didn't.
There isn;t any one thing that will improve AI. If you're off on one thing by much you might as well squirt it on the ground.
Heat Detection
Good quality semen
Proper semen handling
Good technician, with a good cowside manner
Calm cows help
Good feed/mineral program (nutrition)
Fertile cows
dun
Heat Detection
Good quality semen
Proper semen handling
Good technician, with a good cowside manner
Calm cows help
Good feed/mineral program (nutrition)
Fertile cows
dun
Arkieman
Well-known member
Thanks for the input. These heifers just came off a big pasture and are a little wild right now. We've been feeding since we've got them trying to get them to gentle up a little. I've fooled with dogs in heat and the color/consistency of the discharge is usually the key. Give me some tips on heat detection in cattle.
Thanks Again
Thanks Again
I think timing "when to AI " during the heat cycle. This is critical to not AI too early or too late. We used to have an AI tech that would only come at a certain time when you called - like 9 am ( even if I called at 9 that day he would come the next day - and never off that schedule and he missed many of my cows with that schedule. Cows are not always on the same schedule as the AI tech!
Nutrition and a good mineral program is a must.
AI tech and quality and handling like Dun said is also critical.
Of course...This is MY opinion!
.
Nutrition and a good mineral program is a must.
AI tech and quality and handling like Dun said is also critical.
Of course...This is MY opinion!
.
*Cowgirl*
Well-known member
they'll be mounting e/o
the time to breed is when the cow is standing to be mounted.
What improves conception is:
heat detection
fertile cows
healthy cows
condition of cows
good semen
the arm inside
the time to breed is when the cow is standing to be mounted.
What improves conception is:
heat detection
fertile cows
healthy cows
condition of cows
good semen
the arm inside
Tod Dague
Well-known member
Proper placement at the proper time on good health cows/heifers.
aplusmnt
Well-known member
Most covered all, when we started out we had low percentage of results. Started a better mineral program that that helped.
And number one thing was increasing Heat Detection time and had a vet that liked to breed a little to early. So I started taking the cow and having him breed them exactly when I wanted and we started getting them all bred.
When you are in doubt about when the stood or quit standing it is better to be late than early on breeding. That is what a guy that does embryo work told me and once I changed to that philosophy are success increased drastically.
And number one thing was increasing Heat Detection time and had a vet that liked to breed a little to early. So I started taking the cow and having him breed them exactly when I wanted and we started getting them all bred.
When you are in doubt about when the stood or quit standing it is better to be late than early on breeding. That is what a guy that does embryo work told me and once I changed to that philosophy are success increased drastically.
*Cowgirl*":hp73g35e said:
Only if you are a bull. The accepted timng for AI is 12 hours after observed standing heat or there abouts. The AM-PM rule applies. If they are observed standing in the AM you breed them in the PM and vice versa
dun
aplusmnt
Well-known member
dun":972k18ct said:
dun do you go 12 hours from the first time you see them standing or do you watch and go 12 hours from when they are done standing?
We started having better success once we watched or estimated when they quit standing and then counted 12 hours. Following the idea of better late than early.
aplusmnt":3s1pqjah said:
We don;t do a precise 12 hours. Pretty much am-pm. I usually heat detect around 5-6 in the morning which is when we breed the ones we say standing late in the day or evening of the previous day then breed around 7pm (it's cooler then). For us heat detection is pretty much an all day deal. But we have the luxury of being able to see the cows while we're doing other work around the farm. If we notice something out of the ordinary we may stop and watch for a few minutes, The nly concentrated heat detection is the am and pm deal.
dun
*Cowgirl*
Well-known member
Sorry, we see one standing in the moring and breed her after work. Didn't clarify. 
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
My philosoply is that breeding later is higher conception, but breeding early is more heifers.
When we START our AI program, we tend to breed as early in the cycle as possible (hubby is my AI tech & that's his busiest time of the year at "real" job). Later, or repeats, we breed later.
When we START our AI program, we tend to breed as early in the cycle as possible (hubby is my AI tech & that's his busiest time of the year at "real" job). Later, or repeats, we breed later.
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
On your question about knowing signs of heat - if you go the the homepage of Cattle Today (this forum), there are tons of old articles about heat detection.
Arkieman
Well-known member
Do any of you use synchronization drugs? I have a friend that is going to do the AI and I'd rather have them ready at a certain time so he can do them all at once (unless there's some drawback other than $ for the drugs). Are there any studies about increase/decrease in conception when using the sync drugs?
Here's a picture of the little ladies...
Thanks again for all the input!!
Here's a picture of the little ladies...
Thanks again for all the input!!
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
If you use "timed" breeding with the sync programs, you will lower your conception rate. I would definately use visual observation on heats for time of breeding.
Arkieman":31hcvgzy said:
I don;t know about Jeannes experience but when we've tried timed breeding, others herds not ours, we've had them come into standing heat a day or 2 after they were inseminated based on time. Gaurantee those ones didn;t settle to the first breeding.
dun
