Synchronisation of 10 cows facilitated by new fertility pack
The pack contains the complete veterinary medicines for a 10-cow synchronisation programme.
The recommended synchronisation programme is based on research from Irish grass-based dairy production systems, conducted by UCD and Teagasc.
According to Zoetis, benefits of synchronisation (which is suitable for all cows calved 45 days or more) are:
¦ You can use fixed-time AI which saves time and work.
¦ Repeats will come in at the same time; more cows in heat together makes heat detection easier.
¦ You have fewer groups of cattle to manage.
Zoetis recommends that all cows that have not been bred in a three-week period be examined by your vet for womb infection, cysts etc.
Cows not bred in the first three weeks can be synchronised, using a combination of hormonal therapies.
Heat detection is crucial in the breeding programme. A vasectomised bull with a chin ball works very well.
Tail painting all calved cows from the end of March or beginning of April (to check what cows are cycling) is also very useful for heat detection, but it must be topped up.
Better herd fertility enables earlier calving to make maximum use of spring grass.
Production data (2005) from Teagasc, Moorepark was compared with the national herd, and the difference of 150kg of milk solids per cow was main-ly attributed to greater milk production during the early grazing season.
