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
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
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%
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
5
Q
Why would you select replacements from early born calves?
A
- Max age + growth at time of breeding
6
Q
Why would you target age at 1st calving = 2 years old
A
- Limits rearing cost
7
Q
Why would you wean heifers early?
A
- heifer still growing herself
8
Q
Why would you calve heifers 3-4weeks before planned start of calving for herd?
A
- Extra time before next breeding
9
Q
Why would you restrict breeding / calving period to 6 weeks in the heifers?
A
- If late in first year = not great future
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
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
12
Q
What are alternative options to using a bull?
A
- Triple oestrus synchrony + AI
- Single synchrony + sweeper
- Serve to detected oestrus = teaser bull
13
Q
What are advantages of AI?
A
- Safer
- Tighter calving interval
- Sexed = more females
- Selective breeding - genetics
- Biosecurity + disease control
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
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
