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
Beginners Board
Need advice, AI or Bull?
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="boondocks" data-source="post: 1319625" data-attributes="member: 20599"><p>Magis, that's the one thing we have struggled with, using solely AI. There's no question that it's the main downside to AI. I will say that using timed AI followed by breeding (on natural heat) any that come back into heat, we usually manage to get most of them bred within a 45 day window. We have had a few take 3 tries, and it's those few outliers that hose things up. (I hope to get better over time at knowing when something (timing, technique, etc) wasn't ideal on our end (such that a 3rd try is really more like a second try), versus when a cow really shouldn't get a third chance. The other issue we've had is one or two that didn't breed but didn't show a subsequent heat either. They're not tame enough to let me just slap a heat detection patch on them, so we just keep an eye on them from about day 17-26 post-AI. We also preg-check asap as a back-up). I think it would be ideal if after the second try, we could send her to a neighbors for a month to visit a bull. But we run a closed herd and I worry about diseases etc....No perfect answer, but to us, still beats a bull, and our cows have made good progress quickly. (Our first one butchered was prime).</p><p></p><p>I have to emphasize (and others with more AI experience will hopefully chime in) that if you go the timed AI route, you really need to have the insemination performed within the proper window (in hours) from the time of the prior step in the synch protocol. At least in the published studies, a few hours' swing in one direction or the other can greatly affect your rates.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="boondocks, post: 1319625, member: 20599"] Magis, that's the one thing we have struggled with, using solely AI. There's no question that it's the main downside to AI. I will say that using timed AI followed by breeding (on natural heat) any that come back into heat, we usually manage to get most of them bred within a 45 day window. We have had a few take 3 tries, and it's those few outliers that hose things up. (I hope to get better over time at knowing when something (timing, technique, etc) wasn't ideal on our end (such that a 3rd try is really more like a second try), versus when a cow really shouldn't get a third chance. The other issue we've had is one or two that didn't breed but didn't show a subsequent heat either. They're not tame enough to let me just slap a heat detection patch on them, so we just keep an eye on them from about day 17-26 post-AI. We also preg-check asap as a back-up). I think it would be ideal if after the second try, we could send her to a neighbors for a month to visit a bull. But we run a closed herd and I worry about diseases etc....No perfect answer, but to us, still beats a bull, and our cows have made good progress quickly. (Our first one butchered was prime). I have to emphasize (and others with more AI experience will hopefully chime in) that if you go the timed AI route, you really need to have the insemination performed within the proper window (in hours) from the time of the prior step in the synch protocol. At least in the published studies, a few hours' swing in one direction or the other can greatly affect your rates. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Cattle Boards
Beginners Board
Need advice, AI or Bull?
Top