Heat Detection

[jcedvm]

I know detecting standing heat is best by simply looking at the cattle and watching for it however with a job and a farm, daily monitoring is hard to do.

What method do you guys trust the most second to witnessing the heat?  Are you using paint patches?  Computerized monitoring? Electronic monitoring?

Thanks fellas!

 

[CAB]

Gomer bull may be better than human detection. If you can get a gomer bull with a chin ball marker that works great.

 

[rmbcows]

Agree!  Gomer bull would definitely get my vote for most accurate.  I use the heat patches but you still need to put your time in watching.  My biggest complaint with the patches is brush and swishing tails will rub off quite a bit of them after a little while.  And there's the occasional one that will come off with shedding hair if they've been jumped on a few times.  When everything works right, they can speed watching time up for sure. 

 

[GoWyo]

Estro-tect patches combined with AM and PM observations for 30 minutes.  This year we synched 12 using 7-day co-synch with CIDR and bred on observed heats with the last ones finally standing on day 5 after pulling CIDRs.  It looks like we had 100% conception through the first cycle post AI.  Will see if they can hold through the next 12 days and will be through 2 cycles.

 

[Bulldaddy]

I use estrus alert patches as others explain plus observe heat 3 times per day for a minimum of 20 minutes.  I check early morning, at dusk and then again around 10 pm.  You would be surprised how many I catch on that 3rd check that weren't in heat at dusk.  Young bull calves sometime help a bit as well.  I bred all my cows AI.  No clean up bull.  Too tight to buy and feed a gomer bull.

 

[GoWyo]

Bull calves and turn out the show steers in the evening and they are pretty good about finding the hot ones if the cows aren't riding each other.  Look for mucous too.

 

[JSchroeder]

Former bulls don't just cost feed and initial cost, you have to throw in the damage those sexually frustrated hot head do to facilities, pens, and trucks.

 

[cowman 52]

Like most of us, standing and watching cows is not the best use of time with hay to be put up and all else. 
Let  the water in the trough run over, the mud will do 10 times what all the devices created will,  drive by, walk by, what ever, but fresh mud on a cows back will tell you all you need to know. If it isn't on both sides, she was the chaser.

 

[ZNT]

Summertime breeding can be very difficult to heat detect.  We use the scratch off patches usually, but have had better luck with Kamar's if the cows are swatting their tails at flies a lot. 

Secondary signs we use are attempting to ride others, standing head to tail with another cow, and mucus.  If you see one trying to ride others, but no one rides them to get a good standing heat, you may want to consider breeding 12 and 24 hours after you see the female trying to ride others.

 

[Limiman12]

Like most of us, standing and watching cows is not the best use of time with hay to be put up and all else. 
Let  the water in the trough run over, the mud will do 10 times what all the devices created will,  drive by, walk by, what ever, but fresh mud on a cows back will tell you all you need to know. If it isn't on both sides, she was the chaser.

So that is what dad was doing.....

 

[CAB]

In all reality AIing cows requires a certain amount of time whichever way you decide to do it and if you don't have or can't spare the time your results will suffer and a person should possibly get the best bull that he can afford and go that route.

 

[firesweepranch]

We use livestock tail chalk, or grease sticks people call them. Just run a single stripe down the tail head. When it is gone, she was in standing heat. Of course, AI takes commitment and time to watch, at least twice a day.  Usually, we see other signs before the cow actually stands. Having baby bulls out with the group certainly helps, they will tell you usually 12 to 24 hours before a cow shows signs. We had a cow that, for two cycles, never showed any signs of heat. But, right at 21 days and 42 days post AI, the baby bulls would not leave her alone. No slime, no interest in sniffing or anything with other cattle, and she would beat the baby bulls off. After the second time, I had the vet here doing other things and decided to run her in the chute and ultrasound her. She was open, so we gave her a shot of lute and boy was she hot three days later. That was my first time having a cow not show any signs of heat...

 

[Will]

I can sympathise with you with the job and other commitments.  We tried everything and it seemed like we just wore our selves out, spent a lot of money and did not get everything bred in a timely fashion.  We made the discussion to just buy the best bulls we could afford/find.  Our calf crops are now more consistant and our calving interval is closed quite abit. Plus I feel like it has given some what of a identity to our farm. 

 

[Davidsonranch]

I'm glad others have expressed their experiences.  This year my best cow, I just cannot catch!  I finally figured it out that for two consecutive months, she comes into heat on day 23.  She is not a moo-er, pacer, or rider.  The only reason I caught her last night was the foot long stream of mucus dangling down her rear. 

 

[bulldawg]

I have started using the "Tattle Tail's". It is a device from PBS Animal Health.com. I used to use the Kamar's, but it seemed like they would get set off by getting under a tree limb rubbing etc. So I found these Tattle Tail's, they have 12 LED lights on them, when they first Stand for 3 seconds it will set it off and when the 12th light flashes it is time to breed. They are around $32 a piece, but it takes some of the time out of watching for heat, especially if you are working 12 hr shifts like I do. I AI all of my cows, no bull. They are Reusable also, and I have found them to be pretty durable.