Systematic Heat-Detection Programs
Transcript of Select Sires' Reproductive Moment Program
on DairyLine Radio, Which Aired March 13, 2003
with Joel Mergler,
vice president of training and and herd management products,
Select Sires Inc.
Joel, what are you seeing as one of the biggest challenges producers face in improving their herds reproduction?
Here is an obvious statement that won’t surprise anyone in your listening audience: heat-detection has never been a greater challenge.
What is causing the problem?
High-producing cows in increasingly larger herds, on concrete, in operations where the labor situation is already maxed out.
Those are the problems and the causes. The question is, "What is the solution?"
Unfortunately, the solution is not simple, and it takes consistent commitment. But with researchers telling us that a missed heat past 90 days is costing a producer $60 per cow or more, the benefit is there to put systems into place to improve heat-detection.
What about heat-detection aids as a way to improve heat-detection efficiency?
In my experience, heat-detection aids can help, but please note the stress on the word aids. That is all they can be expected to do, is aid, not replace, a heat-detection program. But when heat-detection aids are part of a truly systematic heat-detection program, they can help to improve heat-detection efficiency and reduce days open.
What kinds of heat-detection aids are out there?
There are many good heat-detection devices available, from the inexpensive, such as the old standard LA-CO® Paintstik®, to the more complex and elaborate systems such as Heat Watch that employ heat-mount devices that send a signal to a computer to record each mount. Pressure sensitive devices such as KAMAR® or BOVINE BEACON™ are also good choices when used as part of a systematic heat-detection program.
A new heat-detection aid that shows promise is the Estrus Alert patch. It consists of a self-adhesive patch that is gray until an animal is mounted. Once she is mounted, the scratch-off surface comes off, revealing a bright color that is easily noticed. There are also several good tailpaints that are available, each designed for different housing and management situations.
The key to success to using heat-detection aids is that they are used as part of a systematic program. This means:
- That heat-detection aids are applied to animals that should be in heat over a 21-day period.
- Accurate records are available and utilized.
- Animals are checked in a systematic manner by the same trained person or persons at the same time every day.
- Animals are confined to lockups, or at least confined, so that every animal can be easily observed.
When the person doing the heat-checking finds an animal with a triggered patch or in the case of paint stick or tail paint finds an animal with markings rubbed off, this is only a reason to check that animal closer it does not mean to breed her. It means:
- Check the records you are carrying with you.
- How long has she been fresh?
- What did the vet check tell you?
- When was her last breeding or observed heat?
- Do the dates work out to near normal 21-day heat cycles?
If the records check out, the next step is to look for other heat signs:
- Mucus on the tail
- Swollen vulva
- Ride marks on her flanks
- Sweat and or slobber on her shoulder and back from mounting animals
- Heat patches that are dirty or oily from the briskets of mounting animals
- Hair roughed up or rubbed off
If what the heat-detection aid says lines up with what the records and secondary heat signs are telling you, odds are good this animal was in standing-heat and should be bred. Good heat-checkers go through each of these steps consistently, thoroughly and in a matter of seconds. The key is consistency.
If you have questions about how heat-detection aids may help to improve the heat-detection efficiency on your dairy, which heat-detection aids may work best for your operation, or help with setting up a systematic heat-detection program, contact your local Select Sires representative. We are here to help you with Reproductive Solutions™.
® HeatWatch Estrus Detection System is a registered trademark of DDx, Incorporated, Denver, Colo.; KAMAR is a registered trademark of Kamar Inc., Steamboat Springs, Colo.; LA-CO is a registered trademark of La-CO Industries Inc., Elk Grove Village, Ill.; Paintstik is a registered trademark of La-CO Industries Inc., Elk Grove Village, Ill.
™ESTRUS ALERT is a trademark of Western Point Inc.; Reproductive Solutions is a trademark of Select Sires Inc.
Copyright 1996-2003 Select Sires Inc. Last updated 19-Mar-2003.
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