What AI success rate is good for you?

[hornedfrogbbq]

Another simple batch of questions from the simpleton: What AI success rate do you feel good about? Do you have a floor that anything below is an issue? What have your AI success trends been knowing they can depend on rain, nutrition and a host of other factors? What processes have you instituted to improve your AI success rate? Do you look at AI success on heifers and first calf cows (have their first calf on the ground so their second AI session) differently than your older cattle?

 

[NEFarmwife]

We get a solid 83-85% each year on AI with our herd.

We do AI other herds for folks and we hope for 60% or above. Cattle management is a big factor, IMO with their success.

We use to do the 30 day TAI on only heifers. We now do that with our entire herd that we plan to AI. Stronger/more successful heats.

We don't breed till 60 days post calving, as I am sure most do.

 

[Bright Raven]

What AI success rate do you feel good about?

Answer: I want and get 80 % conception using natural heats.

Do you have a floor that anything below is an issue?

Answer: I would be disappointed with under 70 % conception rate.

What have your AI success trends been knowing they can depend on rain, nutrition and a host of other factors?

Answer: I breed from Thanksgiving until the end of January. Summer heat is more difficult here than winter because it suppresses the estrus cycle. My cows go into the AI season in great condition and they stay on a good mineral. VitaFerm Concept Aid. I think those are key factors to my success. I have been 100 % AI for 4 breeding seasons. The trend is excellent. I have only had one cow come into calving season open in four years. As best I can reconstruct, she slipped her calf in June.

What processes have you instituted to improve your AI success rate?

Answer: Good heat detection, careful handling of semen, and low stress environment.

Do you look at AI success on heifers and first calf cows (have their first calf on the ground so their second AI session) differently than your older cattle.

Answer: Yes. I know my older cows, even to the extent of how they display their estrus and the characteristics of their reproductive tracts. I consider heifers and first calf cows more problematic. I think particularly the first calf cow is more likely to take a second service here than one of my older cows.

My cows are usually 60 days post partum when they are bred. That is important as it gives the uterus time to recover.

 

[cow pollinater]

I expect to run at least 70% on beef cattle. I have had herds where I expect more like 85-90 but that's their management and has nothing to do with me. Here in Oklahoma the fall calvers are a lot easier to get good results with but I've had really good results with breeding spring through summer in some herds(I don't do enough now to really have it down to a science).
Virgin heifers can be hard to sync so sometimes that is hit and miss. If i'm breeding something that is obviously in heat then I expect around 90% but ive seen synced heifers run as low as 40% with competent breeders. I don't like to sync them so I don't do very many that way.
I've had very good results on first calf pairs as long as cidrs are involved but I've also run as low as 50%. I consider the real benefit there to be a management tool that gets them cycling and the calf is a bonus. I've had customers that only bred their first calf heifer pairs and nothing else for that specific reason.

 

[Luckiamute]

My goal every year is for around an 80 percent success rate breeding on natural heat cycles using conventional semen. if we're using sexed semen we lower the expectations a bit and aim for 70 to 75 percent minimum. We've been pretty fortunate to hit that 80-percent range most years. We do have a small herd and aren't breeding a large number so it is a bit easier keeping track and watching them for their heat cycle.

 

[Katpau]

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We use to do the 30 day TAI on only heifers. We now do that with our entire herd that we plan to AI. Stronger/more successful heats.

I found this comment very interesting. We use the long protocol on heifers and the 5 or 7 day protocol on cows. Our success with heifers has been exceptional. It is not uncommon to hit 100%. With cows we are closer to 70% and there are both good and bad years. We do one round of AI and any that return to heat are covered by the bulls. I have often wondered about using the 14 day protocol on the cows, but since it is not included under listed protocols, I assumed there was some reason it didn't work on cows. You are saying you use that protocol on cows too? Is that CIDR for 14 days, PG on day 30 and breed 66 hours later (+ or - 2 hours)?

 

[NEFarmwife]

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We use to do the 30 day TAI on only heifers. We now do that with our entire herd that we plan to AI. Stronger/more successful heats.

I found this comment very interesting. We use the long protocol on heifers and the 5 or 7 day protocol on cows. Our success with heifers has been exceptional. It is not uncommon to hit 100%. With cows we are closer to 70% and there are both good and bad years. We do one round of AI and any that return to heat are covered by the bulls. I have often wondered about using the 14 day protocol on the cows, but since it is not included under listed protocols, I assumed there was some reason it didn't work on cows. You are saying you use that protocol on cows too? Is that CIDR for 14 days, PG on day 30 and breed 66 hours later (+ or - 2 hours)?

correct. And while it is TAI, we generally have an exceptional amount show heat.

One of our larger groups, we used for embryos. This "appears" to be our most successful implants to date as well.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

NE - do you breed on the actual heats or stick to the TAI?

 

[NEFarmwife]

NE - do you breed on the actual heats or stick to the TAI?

Someone else messaged me about which protocol so I'll just copy and paste which, from his message.

Heat detect and AI days 30 to 33 and TAI all nonresponders 72 hours after PG with GnRH at TAI.

 

[T & B farms]

NE - do you breed on the actual heats or stick to the TAI?

Someone else messaged me about which protocol so I'll just copy and paste which, from his message.

Heat detect and AI days 30 to 33 and TAI all nonresponders 72 hours after PG with GnRH at TAI.

Do you have pretty good luck getting the non responders to stick doing this?

 

[NEFarmwife]

NE - do you breed on the actual heats or stick to the TAI?

Someone else messaged me about which protocol so I'll just copy and paste which, from his message.

Heat detect and AI days 30 to 33 and TAI all nonresponders 72 hours after PG with GnRH at TAI.

Do you have pretty good luck getting the non responders to stick doing this?

I could say with almost absolute certainty that yes... they did very well. Their patches remain on and they haven't shown heat. We won't preg check till that 90-100 day mark. So this is purely observation.

Many of our larger groups had embryos put in. A coop down the road also follows our same protocol and implants embryos as well. They'd preach the same success as ourselves. Anything that was TAI that showed no heat, was bred AI. I have a lot of semen left over.

I am doubtful, unless purely for time restraints (catastrophic flooding again which effected a lot of CIdR protocols this year)... we'll never go back to another protocol.

 

[T & B farms]

Someone else messaged me about which protocol so I'll just copy and paste which, from his message.

Heat detect and AI days 30 to 33 and TAI all nonresponders 72 hours after PG with GnRH at TAI.

Do you have pretty good luck getting the non responders to stick doing this?

I could say with almost absolute certainty that yes... they did very well. Their patches remain on and they haven't shown heat. We won't preg check till that 90-100 day mark. So this is purely observation.

Many of our larger groups had embryos put in. A coop down the road also follows our same protocol and implants embryos as well. They'd preach the same success as ourselves. Anything that was TAI that showed no heat, was bred AI. I have a lot of semen left over.

I am doubtful, unless purely for time restraints (catastrophic flooding again which effected a lot of CIdR protocols this year)... we'll never go back to another protocol.

Every year I breed some that are only 60 days post calving. Would putting a cidr in 25-30 days after calving affect anything?

 

[NEFarmwife]

Do you have pretty good luck getting the non responders to stick doing this?

I could say with almost absolute certainty that yes... they did very well. Their patches remain on and they haven't shown heat. We won't preg check till that 90-100 day mark. So this is purely observation.

Many of our larger groups had embryos put in. A coop down the road also follows our same protocol and implants embryos as well. They'd preach the same success as ourselves. Anything that was TAI that showed no heat, was bred AI. I have a lot of semen left over.

I am doubtful, unless purely for time restraints (catastrophic flooding again which effected a lot of CIdR protocols this year)... we'll never go back to another protocol.

Every year I breed some that are only 60 days post calving. Would putting a cidr in 25-30 days after calving affect anything?

Exactly what we do. All our cows calve from Jan 15th- March 1. We CIDR on a respectable date around that 30-40 day post calving range depending on groups. They also get a shot of Multimin when we insert CIDR. Just as long as they are 60 days post calving before breeding. We make no exceptions there.