Program-Breeding Highly Fertile Heifers
Transcript of Select Sires' Reproductive Moment Program
on DairyLine Radio, Which Aired Sept. 12, 2002
with Ray Nebel,
extension specialist and professor of reproductive management,
Virginia Tech
Last week’s reproductive moment with Select Sires’ Mel DeJarnette
focused on the benefits of using artificial insemination in
heifers. And, today we have Ray Nebel, extension specialist
and professor of reproductive management at Virginia Tech, to
talk a little bit more about the subject of setting up a program
for highly fertile heifers. So what’s the first step in this
process, Ray?
We like the layout of two different options based on the farm’s
strengths and try to maximize them. If the farm likes to do a
good job of heat detection, we can go with an easier program for
just going with biweekly prostaglandin injections. We come in and
inject the heifers, and then set up the heat detection for five
days. But sometimes heat detection is our weakest link, so we want
to program-breed those heifers so that this is not an option. So
we come in and basically give different options.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved a product
that can be used in breeding programs for heifers. Tell us about that.
A new reproduction management tool that just became available
late June, first of July, is a progesterone-releasing device,
or CIDR®, that allows us more flexibility in that we insert that
CIDR, we can give the prostaglandin injection either the day before
we remove it, which is seven days later, or the day that it is
removed. Now for most applications, we work that heifer as few
times as possible. The day that we remove it, a week after insert,
we give the prostaglandin injection. What happens is they start
coming in heat probably about 18 hours after removal and they
should all be in over a 24- to 30-hour period. We don’t need
to check heats, but for roughly 1 1/2 to two days.
And, we should point out that the CIDR is not approved for
lactating dairy cattle. Ray, while this product is new in
the United States, do producers in other parts of the world
have experience with the CIDR?
It is a new program for the United States. It was approved and
really comes out of New Zealand. When I did a sabbatical in
New Zealand eight years ago, we were using it on a routine basis
there. It has been in Mexico and in Canada for a number of years.
It has just passed through FDA approval and is new to the United
States. But, it is not a new procedure. So, there is a lot of
experience, a lot of expertise, around the world. We can
draw on some of that plus the different programs that were used
in research for FDA approval we can draw on.
How about from your experience from where you are?
We have actually done all our heifers like that for the last
three months here at Virginia Tech. And, because it does save
on labor in the pregnancy rates we are running are about 60 to 65 percent.
That’s Ray Nebel, extension specialist and professor of
reproductive management at Virginia Tech.
®CIDR is a registered trademark of InterAg, Hamilton, New Zealand
Copyright 1996-2002 Select Sires Inc. Last updated 18-Sep-2002.
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