Post by littlecowfl on May 17, 2017 4:16:01 GMT -5
We had two cows bred via AI last year and they both slipped their calves. It was disappointing.
We used a different AI tech this year and just had them bred back. This guy was awesome. He had us give a mineral shot them a month before and a bag of Concept Aid (which we will keep using as our loose mineral). Our cows were in good health, but the mineral supplementation really put a nice bloom on their coats. We used their natural heat cycles by using a sticker above their tail head that changes color when they are mounted by another cow. It worked better than observation because I would have missed the standing heat in one cow without it.
This is the third time we've AI'ed any of our cows and our experience with this tech was completely different than the first two times. He raises Angus show cattle, so he really knows his business.
The first experience was a nightmare and I had to play detective to figure out which straw the tech actually used (long story). Then, last year, we sent them off to another farm to be AI'ed and paid much more. This time, the gentleman came to our farm, let us do the shots we could, and he took us through the protocol very easily. Two of our cows are older (12 and 10), so we will see.
We also have a clean up bull this time that will go in with the cows next month. We will know by when the calves are born as to whether they are AI or pasture bred.
Now, we wait eagerly.
We used a different AI tech this year and just had them bred back. This guy was awesome. He had us give a mineral shot them a month before and a bag of Concept Aid (which we will keep using as our loose mineral). Our cows were in good health, but the mineral supplementation really put a nice bloom on their coats. We used their natural heat cycles by using a sticker above their tail head that changes color when they are mounted by another cow. It worked better than observation because I would have missed the standing heat in one cow without it.
This is the third time we've AI'ed any of our cows and our experience with this tech was completely different than the first two times. He raises Angus show cattle, so he really knows his business.
The first experience was a nightmare and I had to play detective to figure out which straw the tech actually used (long story). Then, last year, we sent them off to another farm to be AI'ed and paid much more. This time, the gentleman came to our farm, let us do the shots we could, and he took us through the protocol very easily. Two of our cows are older (12 and 10), so we will see.
We also have a clean up bull this time that will go in with the cows next month. We will know by when the calves are born as to whether they are AI or pasture bred.
Now, we wait eagerly.
