According to Teagasc, every 1% increase in your herd’s six-week submission rate is worth €8/cow.

If your six-week submission rate increases by 25%, in a herd of 100 cows that leads to €21,000 in additional profitability. These are not numbers to be sniffed at.

Achieving a 90% submission rate for the first three weeks is possible with excellent herd management and a reliable heat detection method.

Why use a teaser?

Using a vasectomised (teaser) bull can ease the workload during breeding season by reducing the time spent observing cows or tail painting.

This applies whether you’re using a chin ball or an electronic system like the Moocall HEAT. The bull does the work for you.

Short and silent heats can be an issue

Teasers can be particularly useful when breeding slows down and activity levels in the herd are lower. It is more difficult to see heats at this point and they can be easily missed if relying on observation or tail paint.

Short and silent heats can be an issue that leads to a reduction in cows submitted for AI where these heats are going undetected. Cows have been shown to express stronger signs of heat in the presence of a bull. A teaser bull can help pick up on these shorter heats and in turn improve submission rates.

Bull selection

If going down the teaser route, you need to be thinking about it now. Some planning and preparation is needed in advance.

Whether using a homebred bull or sourcing one from another farm, it is important that he will be able to cope with the demands of a short and intense breeding season.

Buying your bull in advance gives him time to acclimatise

Dairy-bred bulls tend to be the most active, with the strongest libido. It is good practice to have a spare bull so they can be alternated during the season to avoid burnout. An upper limit of 50 cows to one bull is advised.

Buying your bull in advance gives him time to acclimatise and allows for a quarantine period. It will also give some time to ensure he is in adequate body condition.

A bull should be fit but not fat. An over-conditioned bull may become lazy and have reduced libido, leading to a reduction in his performance levels.

If a bull is too thin, he is more likely to sustain injury and may not have the energy levels required to detect heats.

It is good practice to introduce your teaser bull with the cows a few days in advance of breeding

After identifying a suitable bull, he should be vasectomised at least six weeks before you plan to put him with cows. This gives him time to recover from the procedure and ensure there are no viable sperm present.

It is good practice to introduce your teaser bull with the cows a few days in advance of breeding to allow him to get over the initial excitement and to avoid any potential false detections associated with this.

Why Moocall HEAT?

Moocall HEAT will drastically reduce the time spent identifying heats. The technology automatically texts your phone when your teaser bull detects a cow in standing heat.

It doesn’t require any base station and is simple to set up. You don’t have to refill paint and the battery in the collar lasts 12 weeks on a single charge.

To learn more about Moocall HEAT and how we can deliver the €21,000 in additional profitability and increased submission rates, call Moocall on 01-969 6038 or visit www.moocall.com/pages/fj_heat to apply for a call back.