Suckler cow fertility management Flashcards

1
Q

How is efficiency checked?

A
  • Calves weaned / cows to bull (UK target = 88%)
  • Weaning weight
  • Carcass quality
  • Meat price
  • Production traits
  • Variable costs - feed
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2
Q

What drives suckler herd production?

A
  • Good nutrition
  • Fertility
  • Colostrum intake
  • Land quality
  • Disease control
  • Calf management
  • Best calving season for farm
  • Breeding / record evaluation
  • Replacement management
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3
Q

What are KPIs for a suckler herd?

A
  • Mating period = 9-12wks
  • Overall pregnancy rate >95%
  • Abortion rate = <2%
  • Calving rate = >93%
  • 21 day calving rate = >65%
  • Perinatal mortality = <5%
  • Calf death 1 month - weaning = <2%
  • Weaned calf weight / cow weight = 50%
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4
Q

Why do we want a compact calving period?

A
  • Disease protocol
  • Nutrition + general management
  • Cow reproductive fitness
  • Favourable environment
  • Heifer selection
  • Calving supervision / work efficiency
  • Homogenous group at sale
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5
Q

Why would you select replacements from early born calves?

A
  • Max age + growth at time of breeding
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6
Q

Why would you target age at 1st calving = 2 years old

A
  • Limits rearing cost
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7
Q

Why would you wean heifers early?

A
  • heifer still growing herself
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8
Q

Why would you calve heifers 3-4weeks before planned start of calving for herd?

A
  • Extra time before next breeding
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9
Q

Why would you restrict breeding / calving period to 6 weeks in the heifers?

A
  • If late in first year = not great future
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10
Q

Why is there a higher mortality risk in late born calves?

A
  • Increased dystocia risk =
  • supervision exhaustion
  • calving area hygiene
  • overconditioning of late calvers
  • Pathogen exposures =
  • function of time X animal density
  • Calves serve as pathogen multipliers
  • older calves pose risk to younger
  • accumulation in calving area
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11
Q

What are options for spreading out calving?

A
  • Split into spring + autumn calving groups
  • Cull late calvers + replace with heifers that calved early
  • Restrict suckling + use hormones in late calvers
  • Manage BCS
  • Limit peri-parturient problems
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12
Q

What are alternative options to using a bull?

A
  • Triple oestrus synchrony + AI
  • Single synchrony + sweeper
  • Serve to detected oestrus = teaser bull
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13
Q

What are advantages of AI?

A
  • Safer
  • Tighter calving interval
  • Sexed = more females
  • Selective breeding - genetics
  • Biosecurity + disease control
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14
Q

What are the main issues with beef cow nutrition?

A
  • Energy / protein =
  • not maintaining BCS
  • Absolute deficiency
  • Not allowing for growth in 1st calvers
  • Minerals / trace elements = home made diets
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15
Q

What does lack of different minerals cause?

A
  • Copper = delayed puberty, anoestrus, poor preg rate
  • Cobalt = silent heat + poor preg rate
  • Selenium = retained foetal membranes, cystic ovarian disease
  • Iodine = embryonic death, stillbirth, weak calves
  • Manganese = anoesturs, silent heat, delayed ovulation
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16
Q

What does lack of vitamins cause?

A
  • Vitamin A = prolonged follicular phase, poor CL
  • Vitamin D = calcium metabolism, uterine involution
  • Vitamin E = not important in breeding females (More growing)
17
Q

What should BCS of sucklers be?

A
  • 2.5 for mature cows
  • 3.0 for 1st + 2nd calvers
  • Spring calvers may gain 0.5-1 BCS over summer
  • 1 unit BCS = 13% BW
18
Q

How can you use weaning to control BCS?

A
  • Weaning earlier
  • 1month earlier = 0.5-1.0 BCS (50kg) gain
  • consider in 1st calvers
  • Wean later if overconditioned
19
Q

How can you manage feed costs?

A
  • Maximum utilisation of forage = good pasture management (rotation, fertilisation + no under/over grazing)
  • Feed budget = plan supplement, buy at best price
  • Group cows + manage lactation = stage, BCS, age, peak lactation @ best forage quality
20
Q

What do top producers do differently?

A
  • Higher no. cows scanned in calf / 100 cows to bull
  • Higher no. calves born alive
  • Higher % calves born first 3 weeks
  • Higher output & lower replacement costs
  • Main cost savings = depreciation & labour
21
Q
A