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For autumn-calving cows that calve from August through to October, the breeding period is likely to have started in late October.
This means any cows bred during the first 10 days of the breeding period and did not hold to first service will repeat over the next week.
Having a record of cows served at the start of the breeding period makes it easier to watch for animals coming back into heat over the coming week.
Time periods
When observing heats, spend at least 20 minutes watching cows during early morning and late evening, plus a third 20-minute period around lunchtime or early afternoon.
When watching for heats, always let cows go about their natural behaviour. This means do not start feeding concentrates or pushing in fresh silage, as this distracts cows from mounting activity.
Heat detecting
Some cows housed on slats can show limited breeding activity or very short heats, which are easily missed. Therefore, making use of heat detecting aids are a good idea.
Spraying tail paint on cows is a low-cost way to help with heat detection, although there are more high-tech aids to pick up animals that are cycling.
Restricting calves to suckling the cow to morning and evening only can help to bring cows to show stronger heats.
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