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Post by Sherry on Jan 28, 2008 21:16:10 GMT -5
I have an amazing bull that is barely two years old, and am wanting to expand the herd this year. I am seriously considering using AI bulls as well as Ryder. Couple of questions: 1. How well do the girls do with conception and average time frame of conception using AI? 2. Can someone give me a ballpark on what it will end up costing? 3. I am specifically looking at 4 different bulls at this time. Do you think I should use one bull per year, or more than one, or just up to preference?
I am looking around for local dairy farmers as supposedly many of them in my area use AI, but just trying to find out what these calves will end up costing me.
Sherry
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Post by sueseep on Feb 11, 2008 7:07:59 GMT -5
We used AI for our replacement heifers since our bull throws big calves. The year before we had a first calf heifer with a 95 lb bull calf. Both are fine, but we didn't want to worry. I didn't think the semen was really expensive but the freight will kill you, then you have to have a semen tank... If you can, I would contact the semen companies in your area, ABS Global or Genex are kind of the big ones, and take a class. Usually the classes start around $300.00 but they will give you a credit towards semen for that much. They don't have British White semen as a rule but if you have a specific bull in mind they may get it for you. Then the freight is not such a big issue. You can do the AI yourself, really! Be careful about picking out your bull for AI. There is not a lot of information available on most of them since the breed has no EPDs but talk to people who have used it, not the people selling it. Some of the bulls that are well known have a few issues and you should check your genetics to make sure you don't end up with more of the same in your herd. BW has only a handful of lines and I personally am not a big fan of "line breeding". The best advice I found and used was to become active in the association and go to any meetings you can. That is where you can find so much information and advice. We found that the people we have met are the most friendly and helpful! Sue Seep Thistle Hill British Whites
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Post by christinat on Feb 16, 2008 15:30:27 GMT -5
Selecting a bull for your females can be intimidating, but if you look at your cows/ heifers and find their flaws you have a foundation of where to start. For instance, if you have a cow with a great side profile, but she lacks width, use a bull sired by a wide framed cow. If that bull is also wide framed he'll likely pass it on. Birth weight is of largest concern if you're needing calving ease on a hiefer, or for old cows over 10, it's easy to spot a calving ease bull, look at birth weight of bull to be 75 lbs or less, and when he's 12 months old he MUST have a crested neck! Also remember a cow will try to have a calf the same size as she was. This is tied to days of gestation. A cow that calves 3 days before her due date will have a calf that is 4-6 lbs lighter than if she'd gone to her due date. We have a local dairy farmer who does our AI for us, and we have had over 95% conception rate on first breeding. We pay him $10 to come do it, and with the average semen costing around $15 per straw, storing the semen is the only hurdle. If you get your own tank or not is up to you, a local farmer may help you out if you offer him $50 a year. Again, question 3... select your bull(s) to use based on your females. A dairy farmer typically uses numerous sires (10 or more) in a 50 cow herd.
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wolffarm
Silver Member
Goofy 31
Posts: 26
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Post by wolffarm on Mar 5, 2008 22:51:03 GMT -5
I usually breed my best replacement heifers AI. And I only use long time proven bulls. Like Emperor and Stretch 48 the most used AI bulls in the breed. Emperor semen is no longer for sale. But Stretch 48 is available though Genex CRI, Universal Semen Sales. Genetic Horizons-Semex and Interglobe Genetics. They also handle some of my young herd bulls. For best results, try to find a local Dairy farmer that does his own AI breeding. They will get you the best results, because they AI cows every day. And they can get 90% + conception rate.
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