Tight Calving Season

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Now try it with 100+ cows.

You have to be kidding. Nope. I like it just about the herd size I got.

Lol, I hear ya. How's my little bull growing out?

 

[Margonme]

Now try it with 100+ cows.

You have to be kidding. Nope. I like it just about the herd size I got.

Lol, I hear ya. How's my little bull growing out?

Very nice but he has a wheeze. Dr Stanfield has ran several tests including doing a tracheal rinse. See photo above. Put a cannula into trachea. Injected isotonic saline solution, pulled out the rinse, then cultured it. Came back negative. Says it is an allergy.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Uh oh, allergies are bad news.

 

[FlyingLSimmentals]

Good for you Ron. Now it's wait and see if all the work and breeding decisions yield some really nice calves.

 

[Lazy M]

Does priefert make a head table for that head gate? Those are really handy for holding their head still

 

[Margonme]

Does priefert make a head table for that head gate? Those are really handy for holding their head still

I don't know if they do. But in this case, he needed his head stretched up. I ask if he wanted to use the head chain. He said no. Wanted to pull his head straight up.

Another picture that shows the insertion point of the cannula.

 

[WalnutCrest]

Now try it with 100+ cows.

Ai'ing off natural heats on 100+ cows in a one person operation wouldn't be the easiest thing ...

Now, setting them all with CIDRs? Very doable.

...............

How to breed 500 cows to the same bull and keep a 45 day window ...

Buy a vastly superior proven bull with daughters in production (if you're looking to keep heifers) ... or a vastly superior proven terminal bull that won't kill cows with gigantic calves.

Collect the bull

AI everyone ... assume 60% stick

AI everyone that didn't sick a second time ... assume 60% of those stick

Bull does his own cleanup on the (estimated) 80 cows that didn't stick with an AI and stays out with the cows for 24 days. Ship the bull.

Preg check (and sex the embryos if desired) at 70 days after the bull leaves. Sexing the embryos is helpful if you want to (for example) grow the herd but don't want to feed cows carrying bull calves ... or ... if you're fine with your numbers of cows and want to only grow up a group of nice steers ... you can sell cows that are carrying the wrong sex fetus.

Costs:
15k for the bull
1.2k for 800 units of semen and boarding
1.6k for AI supplies and drugs for 800 services
0.2k for feed for the bull for two months after bringing him home from the collection station (they'll keep him after he's been collected until he's ready to go in with the girls so you don't have to keep him separated while you're in the middle of your AI project).

1k for the bull at slaughter

Annual breeding cost = $34 / cow