The whole picture can be overwhelming but you can make your next preg check the best one yet by focusing on the management practices around the BRED and PREG events of a cow’s lactation.
Here, we share three things you can do today to improve the current reproductive efficiency in your herd – and create more of those profitable Alta 4-EVENT COWS.
1. Use high fertility CONCEPT PLUS sires
With countless sire options available it’s often hard to choose the right bulls for your herd. If part of your goal is to make your next preg check your best one yet, then what you’re really trying to do, is improve herd fertility. And one of the fastest, simplest ways to do that in this moment, is to emphasize sire fertility within your customized genetic plan.
When you use a high fertility sire, you’re upping your odds and improving your chances at creating a pregnancy on the very inseminations where you use that sire.
The trio of high fertility Alta CONCEPT PLUS semen options will improve the fertility in your herd, regardless of which semen type you use.
CONCEPT PLUS DxD
– High fertility sires will give you a 2%-5% greater chance at creating a pregnancy with conventional semen.
CONCEPT PLUS 511
– High fertility SexedULTRA sires offer a 4%-9% conception rate advantage over the average sexed bull.
CONCEPT PLUS BxD
– High fertility beef x dairy sires give you a 2%-5% greater chance at creating a conventional pregnancy with the beef semen you use in your dairy herd.
2. Practice strict compliance and accuracy
Regardless of your repro strategy, your cows will not get pregnant if you don’t comply with the timed AI protocols and/or maintain an exceptional level of accuracy with heat detection.
When you use timed AI…
With synchronization programs, we can never emphasize enough that compliance is king. To put that in simple, relatable terms, that means combining four things:
- The right injection
- The right dose
- The right cow
- The right time
If you miss just one of these four critical factors, any chance at creating a pregnancy based off a synchronization schedule is severely diminished, or even gone.
When you heat detect…
The fastest method you have for an open diagnosis is timely, accurate heat detection. What we mean by this, is that if you wait until your actual preg check day to determine the pregnancy status of every cow bred 28-35 days prior, you’ll be checking some cows that may already have showed heat since they were inseminated.
If you’re able to detect heats with accuracy, you’ll give yourself a chance to catch those cows to breed that come into heat, meaning fewer open cows on preg check day. If you’re wanting to improve your heat detection capabilities check out Alta COW WATCH.
3. Maintain accurate records
Using a software program to maintain your records gives you the best chance of sticking to point number two above. When using a timed AI program, your synchronization schedule should be set up in your program, so you can follow it to a tee.
When it comes to heat detection, having accurate data on freshenings, last service date, and more, will ensure you present the right cows on preg check day and keep your repro program in check.
Of course, other management factors will affect how many cows are confirmed pregnant on your next herd check. But if you do your own personal check on the three points above, you may find that your next preg check is your best one yet.
Written by Glaucio Lopes & Chrissy Meyer
