How to AI?

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ChristaCheatham

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Hi! I just wanted to post  a question on AI-ing? My dad is not that big on it but I just wanted to find out more about it.  How do you do it? What is the whole routine that goes place from buying semen to birth? Is it expesnive and does it take a lot of time? I would like to try it on some of our tame cows and heifers, but my dad says we don't have enough time and that it is just easier renting a stock bull. 
 

lightnin4

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Sounds like your biggest hurdle will be getting your Dad to agree to try it.  The easiest thing for you to do (assuming you don't have a semen tank or supplies) is find someone in your area that does a.i. that would be willing to do it for you or contact one of the semen company representatives.  The semen reps will either help you do everything or put you in contact with someone that will.  They can also help you find a class to take so you can learn.  Then if it's successful, you can work on talking your dad into buying your own tank and supplies.  A few better than average calves on the ground might help. ;)
 

OLD WORLD SHORTIE

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On this one, i would just tell my Dad im gonna do it and thats that. Search the inter web for all the info you want and possibly a place to to have it done.
 

willow

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We have a small herd of cattle and we have had our cows AI'd for seven years now.  We called our local ABS rep and he has done the rest.  He will bring you a book, you choose a bull, you call him with your order and then you watch for your cows to come into heat.  When your cows come into heat call him and tell him and he will come breed your cows.  That is the most simple version of the process.  You can add heat synchronization to that process which is what I would suggest if you are not going to try and AI them yourself.  If you are inexperienced and are planning on AI'ing them yourself I wouldn't heat synch unless you just have a few cows.  You wouldn't want to be trying to do 50 cows in a day with no experience.  It is a fairly inexpensive process you have the cost of semen which is roughly $25/straw (more or less depending on the bull), you use one straw of semen per service to the cow.  You have the cost of the AI tech to AI your cow which in our neck of the woods is pretty cheap, $20/head or less and if you decide to synch your cows and depending on the process you use there is a cost for that.  All in all we have always decided it is waaay cheaper to AI our small herd than it is to keep a bull year round.  However, you will still probably want a cleanup bull unless you just plan to keep AI'ing if your cows come back into heat.  We always use a cleanup bull.  It is pretty cheap insurance and we typically only keep him for two heat cycles (approx 45 days give or take).  It seems there is always one or more that don't take, although we have had really, really good luck.  A good AI tech makes a big difference.  The big reason we choose to AI is because we live in a small corner of the world where great cattle are not behind every bush.  We decided we wanted to do what we could to have the best cattle possible and the only option for improving our genetics was to AI.  With AI we have essentially any genetic package at our fingertips.  We never had to settle with the bull down the road.  Best of luck to you no matter which path you decide to take.     
 

ChristaCheatham

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We have a small herd as well.  I'm trying to get my dad to sell the calves we have as well as some of our cows.  We would then use the money to buy really nice replacement heifers.  I want to be able to AI those replacement heifers and sell their show calves. The problem is that I am a sophomore in high school. Therefore, doing all of that would lead to when I am in college, but when I graduate from college I could come back and start off with a side business of raising a small herd of show cattle and selling them.  :)
 

firesweepranch

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ShowSteerGirl101 said:
We have a small herd as well.  I'm trying to get my dad to sell the calves we have as well as some of our cows.  We would then use the money to buy really nice replacement heifers.  I want to be able to AI those replacement heifers and sell their show calves. The problem is that I am a sophomore in high school. Therefore, doing all of that would lead to when I am in college, but when I graduate from college I could come back and start off with a side business of raising a small herd of show cattle and selling them.  :)
Your age sounds right! My oldest is a sophomore, she AI's all of our cattle, with my husband and I doing it when she is not available (FFA trips or such). She started with one heifer in 2007 and has grown from there. We have never sold a heifer (not big enough - now up to about 25 head cows/calves and yearlings/bred 2-year olds). She hopes that when she gets to college, she can sell some calves to help pay for tuition. We have our first set of bull calves, registered purebreds, ready to sell this spring. It cost a lot up front, since we have yet to make any return (we sold one bull calf last summer because we do not keep bulls around). She wants to be a vet, so figure at least 6 years of college, and when she gets out she will have a nice herd to start with. Some are hers, some our her siblings, and some are mine. As long as she keeps good grades, we pay for feed and show expenses, semen and vet visits. She just has to pay for purchase price of her heifers. She gets to keep the heifers and we sell the bulls to pay back for feed. We will see how well it works! We had our first calf in 2009 (out of the heifer she bought in 2007), and this spring we are expecting 7 calves and hopefully 9 in the fall of 2012.
So, what I am trying to say is GO FOR IT! What a great project to get started, as long as your parents are on board with you. It takes a lot of work, heat detection and such, but well worth it when you see that calf being born and winning! Our first AI calf that WE bred for won a big division fair out here (Ozark Empire Fair) in the Junior division, and she won Bred and Owned, which was a $250 check alone! Like I said, well worth it.
 

Shadow Hill Farm

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We have a small herd too and we have several people who can come out for us and do it. My dad and I thought about one of us going to AI school but the advise we got was wait til we have more cattle. You need to keep up with the practice. Which makes sense. The more you do the better you get. We thought about getting a semen tank so that way we have the bulls that want on our farm. The problem we run into is the one guy who orders semen for us sometimes isn't available. We wasted money cause then we have to use someone else and get the semen they have and not necessary the bull we want (Luckily they have had it the bull we have wanted). It is pain in butt. Good luck. If you have people that you know and can help them out with AI then you may want to do it. That way you keep in practice and you can do your own. If you can't find anyone that will be willing to help you out then I would get someone else to do it. I agree trying to get your dad to jump a board will be a challenge. I think most of the questions have been answered about price and what not. Good Luck and hopefully you can get your dad on board. Find out who your rep is and talk to them and your dad. They will give you more than enough info.
 

lightnin4

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lightnin4 said:
Sounds like your biggest hurdle will be getting your Dad to agree to try it.  The easiest thing for you to do (assuming you don't have a semen tank or supplies) is find someone in your area that does a.i. that would be willing to do it for you or contact one of the semen company representatives.  The semen reps will either help you do everything or put you in contact with someone that will.  They can also help you find a class to take so you can learn. 

Get in touch with Genex, Select Sires, ABS, Accelerated Genetics, etc...to find out who has reps traveling in your area.
 

ChristaCheatham

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Alright I have a few more questions. If your trying to detect a heifer or cow in heat it's when she stands when others mount? What if she walks away and doesn't stand? Would ou still wait an hour watching then she might stand? Do not so tame cows go nuts when being indeminated. We don't have a holding chue just grooming chutes.  And the other day my dad says he may not even want to buy nice replacement heifers because they would have trouble calving.  How do I convince him that this is not the case? And he thinks that by AI  would cause the cows and heifers to have problems....
 

JSchroeder

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You could breed in a trim chute with a calm female (I’ve done it with a customer’s show heifer) but a squeeze chute would generally be considered to be a requirement for AI.

Your main problem isn't going to be anything to do with the cattle.  It's hard enough to get everything organized, managed, and paid for when everyone involved is on the same page.  If your dad is actively against the idea, you've got too many capital upgrades to make and too large a time requirement for things to work out in a manner that would be acceptable to both of you.

Start small with 1-2 select heifers from your group and have them done by a veterinarian in their facilities.
 

willow

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It is my experience that:
Yes, typically when they stand without walking away they are in what they call "standing heat".....hence the word "standing".  What you have to remember when heat detecting is that not all cows and/or heifers exhibit the same signs.  You need to be looking for abnormal behavior and then see if they exhibit that same abnormal behavior 21-24 days apart.  The more you watch your cattle the easier it becomes.  Most cows will show more signs very early in the morning just after daylight, or late in the evening just before dark.  Whenever we get new heifers or cows in I always pay very close attention to their behavior early on in the year and see if I can pin point their cycle and behaviors long before it is time to breed.  As far as some cows being wild when you AI, you have to remember that they are all as different as you and me, but I will tell you when I went to AI school we were working on cattle that were just as wild as any and they weren't even in a full chute.  They were lined up in a row in a head catch system.  We still got the job done, so it is very possible to inseminate wild cows in not so prime conditions.  As far as replacement heifers having trouble calving I suppose there are a lot of factors here.  I think no matter who you talk to most people suggest that heifers need to be bred to a calving ease Angus bull for their first calf.  I guess I am not sure what your dad is talking about "...AI would cause the cows and heifers to have problems..."  Like I said before we have been AIing for seven years now and have no more problems than anyone else dealing with livestock.  We have very, very few reproductive issues with our cows as far as breeding, calving, etc.  As far as being  worried about buying fancy replacement heifers, don't worry about that now.  AI the cows you have, see if it is something that works for you, get comfortable with it and then find some replacements.  One thing I would really suggest if you haven't already is do some reading on here or somewhere else about the genetic defects that are out there and understand how they come about and what risk they pose to your cattle.  The two that really come to mind are TH and PHA.  In the years we have been AIing we have never had to cut one out of a cow and I credit at least part of that to knowing just enough to keep ourselves out of trouble.  It is a learning process and don't expect to get it right every time.  I hope this helped.  Good Luck!    
 

ZNT

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ShowSteerGirl101 said:
Alright I have a few more questions. If your trying to detect a heifer or cow in heat it's when she stands when others mount? What if she walks away and doesn't stand? Would ou still wait an hour watching then she might stand? Do not so tame cows go nuts when being indeminated. We don't have a holding chue just grooming chutes.  And the other day my dad says he may not even want to buy nice replacement heifers because they would have trouble calving.  How do I convince him that this is not the case? And he thinks that by AI  would cause the cows and heifers to have problems....

Here is a video I put together last spring to help identify the different stages of estous to determine when to breed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL4FiGeBRMs
 

oakie

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Apr 12, 2010
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You can push the plunger through her cervix, uterus, etc so I wouldn't recommend doing anything until you have a vet or someone with experience walk you through it and check your accuracy.  As far as convincing the dad thing goes; good luck, lol. My dad won't try anythign other than nautral field breeding by his black angus bulls. The buyer doesn't want color. That said, don't breed for maines, breed for better cows than your dads. You want to prove to him that it works and that you know what you are doing so don't use a bull that will take away from yyour cows. Right now your only competition is your dad. Best of luck, my angus calves out-weighed dads at weaning (800 lbs) and he still thinks it's a waste of money.My maines won their classes and their diviisions.  Also, through in the words "tax write off" because that helps. Best of luck
 

AAOK

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firesweepranch said:
[Your age sounds right! My oldest is a sophomore, she AI's all of our cattle, with my husband and I doing it when she is not available (FFA trips or such). She started with one heifer in 2007 and has grown from there. We have never sold a heifer (not big enough - now up to about 25 head cows/calves and yearlings/bred 2-year olds). She hopes that when she gets to college, she can sell some calves to help pay for tuition. We have our first set of bull calves, registered purebreds, ready to sell this spring. It cost a lot up front, since we have yet to make any return (we sold one bull calf last summer because we do not keep bulls around). She wants to be a vet, so figure at least 6 years of college, and when she gets out she will have a nice herd to start with. Some are hers, some our her siblings, and some are mine. As long as she keeps good grades, we pay for feed and show expenses, semen and vet visits. She just has to pay for purchase price of her heifers. She gets to keep the heifers and we sell the bulls to pay back for feed. We will see how well it works! We had our first calf in 2009 (out of the heifer she bought in 2007), and this spring we are expecting 7 calves and hopefully 9 in the fall of 2012.
So, what I am trying to say is GO FOR IT! What a great project to get started, as long as your parents are on board with you. It takes a lot of work, heat detection and such, but well worth it when you see that calf being born and winning! Our first AI calf that WE bred for won a big division fair out here (Ozark Empire Fair) in the Junior division, and she won Bred and Owned, which was a $250 check alone! Like I said, well worth it.

ShowSteerGirl101, all that Firesweepranch has written is good advice.  I want to reiterate that your family must be on board for you to have much a chance.  The Junior Show Ring is truly a great Family activity; much more so than any other "Sport".  Your SP name implies you have already exhibited Show Steers.  I recommend you convince Dad to buy you a young, purebred Show Heifer.  Find a trusted resource to find a quality heifer for $1500 - $2000.  Some will disagree, but with patience and a knowledgeable cow man, you can stay in that range.  As you work with her, and study your breed, you will have time to determine how you will breed her, as well as have time to identify  a Vet who will store semen for you, and teach you to AI.  Going to an AI school is not necessary.  Any AI tech can teach you in a matter of minutes.

You have a great dream; don't allow it to disappear!  Daughters can get anything they want, if they know how to schmooze their Daddy
!

 

ChristaCheatham

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Thanks for all of the advice! I will definitely take them into consideration.  The plan for right now is to hopefully sell the calves we have now and possibly the cows we have that are not pregnant.  I might try to post some old pics of the calves on here.  All calves we are selling are heifer calves.  They are all cross. Some have a purebred angus mom and purebred simmental dad.  All calves are out of the same bull.

 

ChristaCheatham

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Guess what? My dad said that I could AI! Today we had a vet out to see who was pregnant.  All but two. One is a cow that we showed in 4H a couple years ago. My plan is to maybe AI her in June/July for a spring calf..... but I want to sell the calf.  I want to sell it for at least  $1800 to $2000. I would use the money to buy a nice steer for myself.  But will she give a calf that good? Her first calf was a bull calf who is pretty thick for being born in August.. she also had him without any assistance. So any advice on bulls? Ones with a low bw/CE and be TH and PHAC free? Or does that not matter?? I will post a pic of the cow I"m thinking on AI-ing!
 

ChristaCheatham

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Well this cow just had her first calf in mid August and we had the bull out for about Septembetr-October so she wouldn't have gone back into heat probably. Yesterday she was in heat though so we kind of knew she wasn't pregnant.  The Sire list I'm thinking about AIing her to are Ali, Blue Blood, Doctor Who, Hairy BEar, Hannibal, Tyson, Witch Doctor or Who Made Who or Who Made Who clone.  Can you give me any advice? All these sires are Th and Pha free... and what about EPD's what numbers are the best? I think the clone may have the  best bw of 0.0/0.94 but I don't know if they give the quality I want.  Any advice helps!
 

leanbeef

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At the risk of getting too in-depth or confusing you with even more "advice" I wasn't going to reply, but I can't help myself! You've gotten some good information...sometimes I think it can be hard to know what to take and what to leave. I wanted to share some thoughts on a few different topics here...I'll try my best to be concise.

First, your dad...I have to respect the fact that he's your dad and probably "the boss" so I want to encourage you to think about your motives and your approach. I know he's agreed to let you AI one or two cows...you want that to pay off so this doesn't turn into an "I told you so" situation! I suggest you include him in your process so this can be a project he becomes involved in as well. When you're successful, he can be a part of that and feel successful, too. Ask his opinion and consider whatever his experience has taught him. The two of you together will probably make better decisions than either of you could on your own or by listening to everybody else you might ask. If it works out, then both of you can be proud of the results. If it doesn't work out AT FIRST, then together you can make adjustments.

Here's the short list of necessities. These are the MUST HAVES in order for you to be successful with this venture:
Facilities. Doesn't have to be fancy, but you do have to be able to catch a cow and hold her relatively still. If you don't have a head gate/working chute, put that on your list of upgrades for your program. Not only is it immensely helpful when it's time to AI, there are so many reasons every cattle operation should have one! You'll look back someday and wonder how you ever got along without it! A blocking chute will work for one or two females that are halter broke, but it won't suffice for every animal you may want to AI in the future.

Heat detection. It sounds like you have some questions, and this is an important step. At breeding time, you'll have best results if you watch for heat for at least 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the evening. You want to AI approximately 12 hours after the ONSET of STANDING HEAT...meaning once she STARTS to stand, breed her 12 hours later, even if she's still standing which some will do. Since you won't see every animal's ONSET of standing heat, a good rule is if you see her standing at the morning check, breed her that night. If she's standing at night, breed her the next morning. This is called the a.m/p.m rule and it's basic AI protocol. If you're working with somebody else who will be doing the breeding, obviously you'll have that person's schedule to work around. Just try to time it as closely to ABOUT 12 hours as you can and give that person as much notice as possible. A little advance notice and respect for other people's time and effort goes a long way! Read articles about heat detection that are printed in sire catalogs or find some online. The information is everywhere and it's a vital step. You can do everything else perfectly, and if you don't time the insemination close, it's all for nothing. It isn't HARD...just important.

To know when one is coming in, IS in, or has been in, you have to watch them. A female that's coming in will start by trying to mount other cattle. She'll usually look alert and maybe nervous. She may walk around and even bawl some. Or she may not. Look for slightly restless behavior and especially trying to mount other cattle. Also two cows standing head to head with the heads dropped down low is a sign that one is in early stage or coming into heat. Good articles on heat detection will have diagrams. When she stands to be mounted, that's "standing heat". Breed her about 12 hours later or as close to that as possible.

Semen handling and breeding technique. Find somebody and hire him or her. A class for you would be great at some point, but it's hard to get good unless you get some practice. Somebody here made it sound WAY easier than it is! It isn't hard if you know what you're doing. The first time you try it, you will think, "They must be kidding...right?" It sounds like you have enough interest in this that it's not something you would give up on easily, so just keep trying. A lot of people get pretty good at it, so there's no reason you can't be one of those people!

Sire selection. Oh...sire selection. This is huge. There are SO MANY bulls to choose from. My recommendation is not to choose your AI line up based on what everybody else is using. See every calf you can see for yourself and know as much about the program as you can that produced it. Just because somebody has success with one bull doesn't mean he works in every breeding scenario. I'm involved in breeding cattle and have been all my life. The club calf thing can get really fickle, and some bulls are a fad today and gone tomorrow. I recommend at least starting with proven sires that have a reputation for doing what you want to accomplish in your breeding program. Having those bulls available to use is a lot of the beauty of AI. Decide what you're breeding for and set some goals and some parameters. Calving ease and birth weight are important or else all the time and effort and money you've put into this canl be wasted, not to mention the hit you take emotionally from losing a calf. If you stay in the cattle business, you will lose one now and then, but losing one of your first ones is really discouraging! Especially since your dad has been reluctant to help or allow you to start AIing your cows, you want some early signs of success. A hard pull or a dead calf will not be one of those signs! Getting a calf that isn't any better than any other calf you've had born isn't going to help your cause, either! Choose your bull wisely and confidently. And again...ask your dad what he thinks about the sires you like. Including him in the selection process might prove to be a very valuable decision down the road!

Here's the thing...there is no doubt that AI has advanced the beef industry as much or more than any other management tool available. It requires more effort and more investment, but most things that matter do! If the pay-off weren't so great, the whole industry wouldn't be using it. Nutrition is important. Herd health is important. A good vaccination and mineral program is important. But nothing else you can do can move your breeding program forward as fast or as far as using AI. Any bull you want to use is available. You may not see major or noticeable improvements in one generation. In fact, depending on the bulls you've been using and the bull you choose to AI to, it's very likely you won't notice a massive shift in one generation. But set some goals and decide what your breeding program is all about...have a vision. Then make wise decisions about sire selection and the genetics you put into your cow herd. Over time, you will make progress that you cannot and will not make without utilizing AI. I promise.

My dad started AI on his herd of commercial cows in 1971. I took TWO CLASSES before I felt comfortable "practicing" on my own cows! We try to AI every female at least one time before turning her in with the clean up bull. And as far as our heifers, I like to AI them twice if I have to before turning them out. If you're making the right decisions, your youngest females should be your best, and that makes them the lifeblood of your cow herd. You mentioned calving problems, but the truth is you should have LESS calving problems because you can breed your heifers to bulls that are proven not to be a problem. Again...SIRE SELECTION! Keep in mind that performance and muscle and bone are all positively correlated to increased birth weight and increased incidence of calving problems in heifers. Choose your sires wisely!
 
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