Better Management through Better Records
From the discussion of various breeding methods to factors to consider for your herd's reproduction needs, here you'll find articles about breeding management and practices.
Several of the popular cattle breeding articles include:
Have you tried blood pregnancy testing?
Determining how many heifers to keep
Effects of Summer Heat on Cattle
The most difficult step in executing an artificial insemination (AI) program successfully is heat detection. A cow will conceive only when she is in heat, or estrus, which occurs every 18 to 24 days. Estrus is the period of time when a cow or heifer … [Read more...]
EPDs (Expected Progeny Differences) are commonly used by cow/calf operators to select herd sires either to buy semen for artificial insemination or bulls to breed cows naturally. Even though EPDs are an accepted herd sire purchasing tool, their … [Read more...]
The term, “Bull Power,” is a favorite conversation topic among cattlemen with the discussion often ending in controversy over what the term means. A generally accepted definition of bull power is the genetic contributions of a bull to the cow … [Read more...]
The date for turning bulls in with the cows is one of the hardest decisions for a cow/calf operator. Before making this decision, every aspect of your management practices should be studied. The two best options for calf delivery are when forage is … [Read more...]
Culling cows can be decided throughout the year, and is a common discussion in the summer and winter months when grass and resources may be sparse. Many ranches use a cow's breeding history to decide (or at least influence) if she stays on the ranch, … [Read more...]
Though the temperatures are warmer and the grass is greener, now is still a good time to be making culling decisions. Just how much influence does an open cow have on your operation? Ted G. Dyer, UGA Extension Animal Scientist, explains the … [Read more...]
How many heifer calves should I keep or consider purchasing? It's a question that comes up often. While the answer certainly varies by producer, there are several factors you can consider. Glenn Selk with Oklahoma State University says a few … [Read more...]
Ryan Reuter and Jessica Robinette of The Noble Foundation have written a very interesting article on artificial insemination and calving distribution. Some producers hesitate to implement such a system because they envision the resulting calf crop … [Read more...]
Have a few club calf AI sires in mind for the next breeding season and would like to have a closer look at them? Jeff at Cattle.com can help - he's posted videos of bulls that were at the Denver show and is posting more daily. He also has other … [Read more...]
We recently used the BioPRYN blood test method to preg check the cows we AI bred earlier this year before turning them in with the bull. It could not have gone smoother for us, so I wanted to talk a little about our experience, and see what some of … [Read more...]
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