I Heat Detection Success To get cows settled to A.I. (arti icial insemination), you first have o catch cows in heat. Another vay of stating this is the greater he success of catching cows in icat, the greater the conception ate and the lower the calving nverval will be. How successful are you in Jetecting heats? Your DHIA Herd Summary Reports (Penna. and Raleigh) can give you a clue. You’ll find this figure in the repro ductive section of Penna’s Herd Summary Report n, and its broken down by lactation number. On the Raleigh reports, it is found in the upper right hand comer of the Herd Summary report in the Year ly Reproductive Summary sec tion, a copy of which is shown below for discussion purposes. (Table) The % Heats OBS (observed) figure is an estimate at best, and even though it is an estimate, it is still a very useful tool to help eva luate reproductive management in your herd. The more accurate you and your DHIA technician are in reporting heat dates and breeding dates to the DHIA processing cen ter, the more accurate these esti mates will be. A good goal to shoot for is ser- CUSTOM MADE FEED BINS FOR FARMS FEED MILLS • Made of 13 gauge Steel • All welded seams • Gravity Flow or Auger Free Estimates Also - Steel Roof Trusses for Buildings - Portable Hog Buildings - Bucket Elevators • Grain Augers Distributors • Flow Pipes & Accessories We Sell, Service & Install Ph: 717-345-3724 Fax: 717-345-2294 STOLTZFUS WELDING SHOP Owner • Samuel P. Stoltzfus RD 3, Bo* 331 Pine Grove, PA 17963 GLENN’S VDDERINGS By Glenn A. Shirk Lancaster Extension Dairy Agent vice about 70% of all possible breedings (heats). Normally, a cow would have a possible heat (breeding) every 21 days after her volunteer waiting period, whether she comes in heat or not, or whether you saw her in heat or not. That is the maximum number of heats or breedings possible. The number of heats and breedings you report is compared to this maximum number possible to cal culate the % observed. This is a simple, not entirely correct expla nation of how the % observed is calculated. The actual calculation in a bit more complicated. Let’s look at the table. In the August test period the sample herd had a heat detection success of 46%. The average for the year was 33%. There is a lot of variation from month to month. In the last month (July), it was 61%, com pared to 42%, a year earlier (for the month that was dropped). This vacation from month to month <could be caused by a num ber of things, some of which are: - Cows failing to show heat due to: hot climate conditions, nega tive energy balance (poor flesh), infections, poor footing etc. - Failure to observe cows in heat due to: poor observation tech- • Contains 100% white ortho phosphoric acid. Made in USA. • Non-corrosive. Won’t settle. • Top quality. Excellent service. • Newest equipment. • Financially sound... and growing! □ I sell to farmers. How do I become your distributor? □ I'm a farmer. What's the price? Where do I get it? CALL or SEND FOR FACTS: Phone 814-364-1349 ALL-PLANT LIQUID PLANT FOOD, INC. niques, weak signs, etc. -Failure to report all heat detections and breedings to the DHIA processing center. - Short-cycling cows with 80-hour shots, etc. The next column shows the tot al number of breedings (services) reported to DHIA that month, and to the right of that The % of these services that were successful, or confirmed pregnant. Since cows are not preg checked until about 40-45 days after breeding there is about a 2 month delay until this figure can be calculated. And. of course, the accuracy of this % suc cessful figure depends upon reporting all preg checks immedi ately to DHIA. Going back to the August test period for the example herd. 4% of the 28 services made that month were successful; that represents about 1 cow confirmed pregnant to those 28 services. You’ll see that 1 confirmed pregnancy report 2 months later when the preg checks were performed. The last two columns in this table are self explanatory. Basi cally they show the number of calvings for each test period and Sr All-Plant LIQUID PLANT FOOD 9-18-9 PLUS OTHERS! Big Demand Requires More Distributors! 821 State Rd. 511 N., RFD 3, Ashland, Ohio 44805 yearly reproductive summary date % OF ucatc NUMBER *= NUMBER NUMBER TOTAL TEST H |^l S SERVICES SUCCESS CONFIRM CALV- PREG 11 DBS FUL PREG ING COWS -42 U 43 S 37 77 081489 46 28 4 3 18 74 091789 32 45 18 6 23 66 101389 65 58 40 1 20 55 111289 60 42 52 8 18 62 121089 76 25 40 26 10 65 011290 60 20 45 21 10 70 021190 50 23 6 5 8 6 73 031990 65 16 38 9 5 76 041390 35 16 56 12 7 80 051990 45 10 39 6 6 84 061490 42 12 89 82 071790 61 8 4 15 79 -S!^S!§_3i:i3EZS:^jLZi3LII [Z totals r I 303 I 112 I 1471 total number of pregnant cows in the herd for each test period. As you can see, there are a lot of things that can effect the accuracy of these estimates, and as I men tioned earlier, if all the heats, all the breeding dates and all preg. checks are repented accurately and promptly, these estimates can pro- On the Raleigh 210 and 200 monthly reports all cows have a rating A, B, C, D, or E. This is designed to give dairymen a quick reference to manage individual cows in the herd. These letter ratings categorize cows in five production groups based on their current lactations. To determine the letter ratings, the current 305 day, 2X, ME re cords for all covfc are adjusted to a 3.5% fat corrected milk (FCM) basis. The 3.5% FCM record for each cow is divided by the 3.5% FCM lactation average for the herd and the results are designated as follows: A=Top Cows B=Above average C=Below average D=Marginal cows E=Probable cull cows Daiiymen should evaluate all “D” and “E” cows to detennine what future they have in your herd. Look at past lactations as well as possible health problems that may be affecting the current lac tation. “A” and “B” cows could be considered for building your herd around these quality animals. The rating code is found beside the fat projection on the 210 re port and to the right of the breeding date on the 200 report. Call the "Horse Fence People." 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So you'll end up with the fence that's just right for your horses. Call toll-free today for your free copy of "How To Select The Right Fence" and more information. 1-800-441-5832 vide some valuable clues to help you monitor the success of you reproductive program and the impact of various forces (weather, etc.) upon the success of your program. Penn State is an affirmative action, equal opportunity university.
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