Post by brigitte on Jul 3, 2017 5:42:20 GMT -5
Right, we know standing heat lasts 10-12 hrs and ovulation occurs 12-24 hours after onset. It's always been recommended to breed (AI when you don't have the bull or one that can jump a fence nearby) in the afternoon for a morning stand and morning for the prior evening standing heat.
But I remember hearing somewhere along the way that the recommendations are now more in favor of earlier than later, ie not long after standing heat is observed- with the thought being that it might not have been noticed for a few hours as in overnight.
The question becomes ever so more important as the advantage of having lower cost breeders disappears (Genex has pulled back and left its less profitable areas like mine where travel isn't worth the cost- it was the best deal anywhere- $35 to breed, no more) and you need to bring someone in from farther away who charges more.
Bred Rosemary this morning at 6 a.m. after observing her in stand at 5. I had the choice of now or at 3:30 this afternoon which would have been harder for my work schedule. It wasn't the optimal situation, but with the breeder needing to get to her day job, it was the easiest- a gamble maybe, but the sperm will live 24 hours in the right place and she did have a nice long string of slime. Do you think I made the right choice, or should I have waited another cycle. SHe's a heifer, very fertile. In the past, this has worked...and Im not sure how scientific it is, but being "mounted" after breeding ads to settling?
It's not cost effective with a small herd to have a small tank and obtaining semen from others, or is it. It's a skill you need to practice.
But I remember hearing somewhere along the way that the recommendations are now more in favor of earlier than later, ie not long after standing heat is observed- with the thought being that it might not have been noticed for a few hours as in overnight.
The question becomes ever so more important as the advantage of having lower cost breeders disappears (Genex has pulled back and left its less profitable areas like mine where travel isn't worth the cost- it was the best deal anywhere- $35 to breed, no more) and you need to bring someone in from farther away who charges more.
Bred Rosemary this morning at 6 a.m. after observing her in stand at 5. I had the choice of now or at 3:30 this afternoon which would have been harder for my work schedule. It wasn't the optimal situation, but with the breeder needing to get to her day job, it was the easiest- a gamble maybe, but the sperm will live 24 hours in the right place and she did have a nice long string of slime. Do you think I made the right choice, or should I have waited another cycle. SHe's a heifer, very fertile. In the past, this has worked...and Im not sure how scientific it is, but being "mounted" after breeding ads to settling?
It's not cost effective with a small herd to have a small tank and obtaining semen from others, or is it. It's a skill you need to practice.