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Autumn calving lends itself to using artificial insemination (AI) on suckler farms. For herds that calve from August to September, the breeding period will run from late October to January, when cows are indoors for the winter period.
While there is more work involved when breeding cows to AI, having animals already housed is a massive advantage when it comes to inseminating.
On many farms, the lack of handling facilities and fragmented land makes it impractical to bring cows in and out for insemination
A key reason farmers avoid using AI in spring calving herds is that cows are at grass during the breeding season.
On many farms, the lack of handling facilities and fragmented land makes it impractical to bring cows in and out for insemination, let alone for the time required for heat detection.
Farmers should consider using more AI to serve autumn cows, as the benefits far outweigh the downsides
However, with autumn calving cows, these issues are less of a problem.
Farmers should consider using more AI to serve autumn cows, as the benefits far outweigh the downsides.
With AI, herd owners can access the best available genetics in every breed.
AI allows the use of proven maternal and terminal sires
This will improve calf quality and performance, thereby increasing the sale value of weanlings, stores and finished animals.
AI allows the use of proven maternal and terminal sires, and farmers can target different bulls to suit individual cows.
In addition, for smaller herds, using AI on a portion of the herd will take the pressure of the stock bull serving cows on slats. Using AI in smaller herds may also be more economically viable compared with running stock bulls.
Here are a few tips for making the best use of AI in autumn calving suckler herds.
1 Have cows settled on a winter diet
Having cows on a settled diet two to three weeks prior to the start of the breeding period will improve cow fertility and ultimately increase conception rates.
Offer cows high quality silage, plus 1kg to 2kg of concentrates daily, to increase the animal’s dry matter energy intake.
Keep cows on a settled diet until they are established in-calf.
Concentrates can be reduced or cut from the diet, depending on silage quality, once cows are in-calf.
2 Thin cows and first calving heifers
Separate first calving heifers and thin cows from the main herd so they receive preferential treatment and have adequate feed space.
Increase concentrates to 2kg or 3kg/day if necessary, until body condition improves and animals are settled in-calf.
Thin cows will be slow to come into heat, as well as showing limited activity once they do resume cycling.
Separating these animals makes them easier to monitor, as well as cutting down on bullying from more dominant cows in larger groups.
3 Restrict suckling
Restricting suckling is a tried and tested method to bring cows back into heat faster, as well as getting them to show stronger heats.
Ideally, start the process around three weeks post-calving. Lock calves into creep areas in the morning.
Calves should only get access to cows for two hours in the evening.
Calves should be locked away from cows overnight and allowed to suckle their dam for two hours in the morning. There is no negative impact on calf performance.
4 What’s the best time for observing cows in heat?
Heat detection aids are a good way to pick up cows for breeding.
Cows on slats can show weak heats or limited mounting activity, so every little helps when it comes to heat detection.
Aids can be as low cost as applying tail paint, scratch cards attached to the tail head, vasectomised bulls, right up to more high tech aids such as pedometers.
Whatever type of aid is used, make sure it is properly applied and checked regularly.
Detection aids are not an excuse to cut down on time spent monitoring cows during the breeding season.
5 What’s the best time for observing cows in heat?
More often than not, cows will display more heat activity during early morning and late evening. After these periods, afternoon and early evening are best.
When watching cows for heat, it is important to allow animals remain as natural as possible in terms of behaviour.
Therefore, when you enter sheds, do so in a quiet, calm manner.
Avoid pushing in silage and meal feeding when you intend to watch cows for signs of heat, as this will disrupt cows from their natural behaviour.
6 How long should I spend observing heat?
The more time spent monitoring cows the better. But as time is limited, you should target 20 to 30 minutes for each period spent watching cows.
7 When to AI?
Ideally, follow the am:pm rule. This means that cows seen in heat during the morning should be served that evening and vice versa.
However, this is not always practical, as a cow seen in heat in late morning may be too early to be served in the evening.
Therefore, as long as animals are served within 12 to 16 hours of an observed heat, it should be fine.
8 Keep stress to a minimum when handling cows
Cows that are poorly handled before inseminating will be highly stressed and unlikely to hold to the service.
Always move cows quietly and calmly. Move at the cow’s pace, not your pace. Calm cows will be more likely to go in-calf.
Move cows to a handling race as close to the time of insemination as possible, and return animals to their pen immediately.
9 Record heats and insemination dates
Always record the date the cow was seen in heat and when it was served.
This will make it easier to watch for repeat breeding activity, as well as giving more information on expected calving dates.
You can also use breeding dates to identify the most fertile cows in the herd and retain heifer calves bred from these animals as replacements.
10 What’s the best time for observing cows in heat?
If cows are slow to come into heat, or time and labour is limited, there is always the option to synchronise cows and use AI at a fixed time.
Consult with your breeding technician, or vet about which method of synchronisation will work best for your herd.
While this option is more expensive and can have variable results, using synchronisation and fixed time AI can make the use of AI more practical.
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