AI for dairy cow

duckidaho · #1 11/15/12, 12:44 PM

Hello, I was wondering about getting our Jersey pregnant. We bought her bred back and have never gone through the process of getting her pregnant. We were thinking AI, although we don't know much about it. If we could find a Jersey bull that's standing to stud we could try that too, but we don't know how that arrangement works either. Any help for a beginner? Any good links to extension articles you can recommed? Thanks, Russ

Dusky Beauty · #2 11/15/12, 12:49 PM

I recommend that if you can come to a good temporary living arrangement that the live bull will do a better job--- if you have your cow live with the bull for 30 days, it takes all the guess work out of predicting her cycle and the bull will give her as many "inseminations" that she'll tolerate. Vs. a one time shot that has to go *flawlessly* in timing, execution and equipment to get the job done.

If you can make a live cover work, go with that. Every time. AI is for when you either have no access to a suitable bull, or you NEED specific genes.

duckidaho · #3 11/15/12, 12:56 PM

It may be hard to arrange that as we don't live in big dairy country and we don't have a big truck and stock trailer. I might be able to find a truck and trailer if I had sufficient time to arrange it though. I think I'll try the "live" version if I can arrange it. Any other suggestions from other folks?

G. Seddon · #4 11/15/12, 01:16 PM

Unless you are determined to have a full Jersey calf, you might consider a Dexter bull, known to sire smaller calves and most likely a safe option for breeding your cow.

If you're interested, you can locate Dexter owners here (click on Membership and look up by state):

American Dexter Cattle Association

Keep in mind that some bull owners may be unwilling to lend their bull out, even if the cow is fully vaccinated and has been deemed by a vet to be free of disease.

Hope you are successful!

haypoint · #5 11/15/12, 05:23 PM

I believe it is the duty/obligation of every farmer to improve his/her livestock. Buying an average (or more likely below average) Jersey bull would be a mistake. Taking your cow to another farm exposes your cow to every germ on that farm. Equally true to have someone else’s bull on your place. Johne's is common in dairy cattle, hard to detect and possibly connected to Crohn disease in humans. So, the less interaction with other cattle, the better.

Putting a bull in with your cow is the easiest way to get your cow bred, but not the best way.

AI breeding cattle that haven't been handled often is difficult. But your Jersey should be used to being handled. In the short term, try to locate someone that can AI your cow with a quality Jersey. Then learn how to do it yourself. Great to add this skill to your homesteading talents.

Please do not trade away half of your Jersey's genetics on some cross bred fantasy.

Dusky Beauty · #6 11/15/12, 06:11 PM

Dexter bulls are a popular choice for first calvers for easy calving, but this isn't your gal's first freshening, so in this case the benefits of doing so are not quite as overwhelming.

A person should always breed the best offspring they can get to secure the future animal's best possible future, but sometimes-- the ideal animal just isn't available-- and in my case, AI service wasn't available either.

I keep dexters because they are thrifty keepers and I have a breeding arrangement with a good dexter bull.
One of my cows is a registered belmont... which is the expensive version of a jersey dexter mix-- but I bought her because she's a nice small cow, wasn't crazy overpriced and we don't have enough supply of family dairy cows to meet demand in the valley.

A lot of people on this board adore their family milkers be they jerseys, milking short horns, holstein mixes, foreign import breeds, or even beef X dairy hybrids.
It's hardly a mortal sin to breed your one family cow for a hybrid calf. Just not advisable to do it to a whole herd. IMO

tab · #7 11/15/12, 07:41 PM

I watched my heifer for a few months, finally called the guy up the road who has done AI for many years. Followed his advice and we are expecting a calf in March. A whopping $20.00 fee, total. The heifer seems to be a jersey/angus cross, depending on who is giving their seasoned opinion

. We had her bred to an angus noted for small calves. Calf will probably be rsised for meat, maybe.....
Anyway, the AI was not complicated. I knew the gentleman but if you need to find someone talk to a farmer or vet. There are some respectable bulls that do not cost a ton. The diesease factor plus the stress of travel were huge factors for me. Plus, natural cover can cause injuries, not just to the cow but to the humans that have to handle the bull. AI also gives one acess to a huge gene pool. Depending on what you want to do with the calf, you can go purebred, or not. Either way, hope you can get her bred sucessfully.

DJ in WA · #8 11/15/12, 08:00 PM

I had a bull a couple times and decided I don't like them. They like to beat up on things. Always a risk with them.

I also like to order the semen of my choice. I found a nearby dairyman who stores the semen for me and does the breeding. We have been successful on 8 of 10 inseminations. The two failures were my fault. I called him a day early once, going on the presence of mucus discharge only, as I didn't have another cow. Then realized the next day she was in stronger heat.

The second failure years later on a different heifer, I was thinking too hard - saw her in heat midday, and thought she wouldn't ovulate til later, so I called him the next morning. Too late. Got her the next time calling him in the evening.

General rule is when you see them being ridden in the morning, breed in evening. If in heat in the evening, breed the next morning. It is easier if you have another bovine to ride them.

It does help to have

Dusky Beauty · #9 11/15/12, 08:18 PM

Yeah, I think the best live breeding argument is just how hard it is to predict a cow's cycle when 1.)You're new to cows in general, and 2.)She's the only one.

I wasn't even sure my cow was bred for several months (till she was clearly showing) because I couldn't tell if she was having estrus symptoms or not. Bellowing was my biggest hint... and she bellowed out of loneliness all the time

Miss Kay · #10 11/17/12, 06:07 AM

Call all the vets around and see if there is an AI tech around. If so, see if he has the semen or if he will store your semen. There are lots of providers. I just shopped until I found the bull I wanted and had the semen shipped to him. I watched my cow everyday and knew when her mood changed. We have one that moo's like crazy yet another says nothing but gets very active (chaising 4 wheeler, bucks, etc,) I keep it on the calendar and sure enough, every 21 days this starts. I told the AI guy when to expect it and the first sign of heat, I call him for 12 hours later. Just to be sure, we do it again in another 12 hours. So far it has worked great. No bull, no swaping of germs, and we keep a closed herd.

gracie88 · #11 11/24/12, 12:25 PM

You can also use hormone shots to time your cow's heat cycle if it's hard to tell when she's in. When mine is alone, her heat cycles are pretty hard to spot. I would disagree with the person who said you should AI only to the best Jersey you can find. If you are planning on butchering the calf, you will get more beef from a beef cross. My neighbor has an angus cross out of hers this year and he's way more growthy than any other calf she's had. If you find a good AI tech, they will walk you through the stuff you need to know (ask lots of questions) and likely have some good advice on which bull to pick as well. If you decide to borrow or rent a bull, your options will be much more limited.

haypoint · #12 11/26/12, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gracie88

You can also use hormone shots to time your cow's heat cycle if it's hard to tell when she's in. When mine is alone, her heat cycles are pretty hard to spot. I would disagree with the person who said you should AI only to the best Jersey you can find. If you are planning on butchering the calf, you will get more beef from a beef cross. My neighbor has an angus cross out of hers this year and he's way more growthy than any other calf she's had. If you find a good AI tech, they will walk you through the stuff you need to know (ask lots of questions) and likely have some good advice on which bull to pick as well. If you decide to borrow or rent a bull, your options will be much more limited.

While it is true, you will get more beef if you breed your Jersey to a Beef breed and she doesn't have any calving difficulties. But I believe that isn't your best option.
I suggest that if you want a calf you can eat, breed your Jersey to a good quality AI Jersey bull. If you have a bull calf, castrate him and grow him up to eat. He won't make as much beef as a Jersey/Angus steer, but he won't eat as much either. Overall, your cost for beef will be about the same, just you won't have to buy a bigger freezer.
On the other hand, you have a 50/50 chance you'll have a Jersey heifer. She should be worth several times what you could buy a couple holstein bull calves for. That will put you way ahead of what a Jersey/Angus bull or heifer might be worth.

RoyalValley · #13 11/26/12, 11:30 AM

I used to have a Jersey bull, got rid of him for being mean and he got into the orchard an obliterated all of our 4 year old fruit trees. Now I need to breed my new Jersey. I decided to just use my Vet. I talked her into letting me do the shots and pre-work to get her ready to breed so that all she has to do is actually insert the semen (which I probably could do too, just never have). I'm expected around $50 since I did most of the work. Well worth it since I don't have to worry about a bull and I got to to the stuff that I could.

Now, she has bred her yet, we are a few days out from that part, but so far so good.....I will then use Biotracking which will give me a result 30 days after breeding to see if she is bred.

Good luck! I'm in the midst of it too!