the fishman
New member
About 25 or 30 years ago there was a report out of the UK about a dairy herd that influenced the sex of AI sired calves by the direction the cow was headed when (and after) bred. The research found that facing them north increased the number of bulls and south resulted in more females. It was postulated that there is a slight difference in the polarity of Y vs X semen. (Now a lot of people may make fun of this, but keep in mind that the good folks @ Monsanto/Genex are doing something to sort semen today)
The dairy herd in the UK wanted all heifers, so they bred their cows facing south. As they were in stanchions or tie stalls, they could face them south for many hours after breeding. The assumption was that the longer they faced that direction after breeding, the higher percentage of heifers (if the cow faced south). In most beef operations the cows are only in the chute for a short while. However, one could have a lane or feedbunk setup that would encourage the cows to be facing a particular direction for some period of time. The key is not to put additional stress on the animal, which would reduce conception rate.
Has anyone else heard of this? The interesting thing about this concept is that no one ever really promoted it as there was no way to make a profit from it. Can't patent it or charge for it.
My recollection is that the UK dairy herd was running over 90% heifers.
the fishman
The dairy herd in the UK wanted all heifers, so they bred their cows facing south. As they were in stanchions or tie stalls, they could face them south for many hours after breeding. The assumption was that the longer they faced that direction after breeding, the higher percentage of heifers (if the cow faced south). In most beef operations the cows are only in the chute for a short while. However, one could have a lane or feedbunk setup that would encourage the cows to be facing a particular direction for some period of time. The key is not to put additional stress on the animal, which would reduce conception rate.
Has anyone else heard of this? The interesting thing about this concept is that no one ever really promoted it as there was no way to make a profit from it. Can't patent it or charge for it.
My recollection is that the UK dairy herd was running over 90% heifers.
the fishman