AI success rate

[Hexe]

Hello, I'd like to hear from you guys about how successful you've been with AI. How many times did it take before the cow "took"? Did you ai at natural heat or induce?

I have been unsuccessful in finding a suitable bull this year. Last year a bull failed to settle my cows (there are three), which was def. odd, and the bull's owner refused to return any of the stud fee. (Just to clarify - the cows had been bred successfully by the same bull the year before - but still! The vet thought that this seemed to have been an issue with the bull, rather than the cows. )

Anyway, I've been getting very different opinions about AI, with most of the opinions leaning toward natural heat being better. My vet told me that my chances of settling the cows with natural heat would be about 60% and with induced heat about 40-50%. That does not sound good.

What have your experiences been?

[WildernesFamily]

First cow, natural heat, took first time, first calf for her. Expected to deliver sometime between June 6th and 12th.

We watched her cycle a few times first, about every 17 or 18 days I think it was. We only have the one cow, but she would run the fence line and start bellowing. Our AI guy said to let him know when she started up with that and he would be here the next morning... which he was.. and he obviously knew what he was doing.

[linn]

In my experience the success rate of AI depends on several things, condition of the cow, timing, experience of the AI tech and quality of the semen. Timing is one of the most important factors for successful AI. When I took the ABS course, years ago, the time to AI was twelve hours after standing heat was first noticed. We thawed our semen straws in ice water. Now I believe the practice is to thaw in warm water. I still thaw in ice water, but have been toying with the ideal of using a warm water bath to thaw the straws. With cows that don't stick well, I try to AI them twice, once in the morning and once in the evening.

[nduetime]

We induced heat but timed it to their natural heat. (Just trying to up the odds as much as possible)Both times my cow settled the first time. I will be doing the same this year for my heifer in July.

[genebo]

Nduetime's method should yield the best results. The biggest factor in the success rate is the AI technician. Get your vet to recommend one that is really good.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

[Hexe]

Getting a good technician is the other problem - we only have one major outfit in the area and a couple of freelancers. According to the vet neither are that great, which explains the low percentage of success.

[linn]

How would the vet know the success rate of a couple of local AI techs? Many free lance AI techs AI for a lot of family cows and a few beef herds besides their own cows. That's why I took the course myself, to AI our herd. When local people found out I could AI, I began getting calls from people with just one or a few cows. I can't see these individuals sharing with the vet what the success rate for their cows were. I can still remember the superior smirk on a young vet's face when he called at a dairy farm where I was AIing. He seemed to get a big kick out of the idea that a woman was AIing cows. That was years ago, I am wondering how much that attitude has changed.

[Hexe]

The information about the local successrate on AI came from about a dozen sources, the vet being just one of them. Most of the people I spoke to (some had just a few cows, some were dairy farmers, some had beef cows) had used (and are still using) AI from different sources. Their answers regarding my questions to AI vs. live cover / induced heat vs. natural heat were all pretty much the same.

My large animal vet is a nice, unassuming man that answered my questions regarding this issue, he did not bring this up himself, however, his answers were exactly the same as the others.
I would imagine that he's aware of at least some of these issues because he'll induce heat and come back for preg checks? Probably multiple times in case of failure?

It seems to me that the people on this board (from past threads) had very good luck with AI, and since I don't have a choice in the matter (at least not this year) I'll have to give it a try anyway. Maybe I'll get lucky.

Any questions I could ask the technician to see if he know's his "stuff"?

[Chixarecute]

I'd say 60% is low. Production level of cow, environmental temperature, timing from standing heat (hard to tell when standing heat is if you only have 1 cow), and tech skill. 75-85% is probably more realistic.

Linn - I trained in '81 or so, warm water (95 - 100 degrees, I think), 12 hours after standing heat. I always found it nerve wracking getting the straw from the canister of liquid nitrogen to the water bath quickly, while dunking the canister back down!

[Chixarecute]

Tech questions - biosecurity measures? References? Is calving ease an issue for this breeding? (I assume you'll have the tech pick something out from his inventory?). What about type? are you raising dairy or beef?

[genebo]

I asked my local AI tech what his success rate was and he told me.

Too often someone will use an AI bull that the AI tech had, instead of finding a good bull and getting straws from that bull. If you have problem feet with your cows, you need a bull with perfect feet. If you have a heifer or a breed known for large calves, you need a bull that throws small calves. The list goes on.

It amazes me that people will breed their beautiful cow to an AI bull they've never seen and know nothing about.

Every calf you get will carry 1/2 of it's genes that it got from the bull. Be picky! You and your calves deserve it.

Skill in transferring the straw from the canister may be very important to the success rate of an AI tech. The straw has to be transferred twice: once to get into the AI tech's tank and once to get out. That's twice the straw could be compromised.

Other factors in the success rate of AI include how many sperm are in each straw, the grade the sperm got for viability and motility, and the quality of the extender used in the straw. Some straws will pull an AI tech's success rate way down, while really good straws can make him look like a genius.

Straws are normally kept in huge tanks at the collection facility, with close control of the temperature. Once it gets into the AI tech's portable tank, there are lots of chances for things to go wrong. The level of charge in his tank, whether it was left in the sun, and how often he opens the tank to withdraw straws all figure in. I wouldn't want to use a straw that had been kept in the AI tech's tank for very long.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

[Jennifer L.]

I used AI for years on my herd. It ran most years between 1.9 and 2.1 services per conception when you looked at it herd wide.

You need good detection, and a good technician, and you need to know when to call the technician to get them there at the right time. Then you're golden.

Jennifer