hopalong said:
What protocol are you using, the same on for both cows and heifers?
I haven't AIed cows in years....Then I use to pasture detect and breed both cows and heifers as they came in heat....
Now when we do breed some heifers we use MGA- and lutalyse- and line it up so they calve a week or two before the cows- so hopefully most of them are done when the cows start...Drawback is the weather is more likely to be nasty when the heifers calve- and several of their calves a year ago lost ears and tails...
Years ago I did just try lutalysing 20 heifers and throwing a bull in...I think if I remember right I had over half that calved in about a week period while the others drug on til later...
I've thought of doing that again with the heifers- but it means one more time of handling- and I'm trying to get as low input as possible...
I'm getting more and more to just handling the heifers like the cows...They have to grow up quick- and make it or break it on their own...