AI Courses

[CollCrofter]

Just wondering if anyone knows of anywhere that does AI courses in Scotland or England, preferably in the north of England but needs must!

If anyone has done a course what were your thoughts and has it been something you have used and not looked back on??

I have absolutely no experience with AI except watching my mate do my 4 limmy heifers for me in August so I'm going in completely blind

Any info at would be appreciated

Cheers!

 

[Ballygreenan]

What size of herd do you have? You'd probably need to have 40-50+ cows to Ai. The main thing is that once you get trained you need to have sufficient numbers to keep your hand in - literally! I certainly wouldn't advise attempting to Ai heifers in your first year post training either.

 

[CollCrofter]

Thanks for you reply. We have roughly 30 odd commercial cows and only 4 pedigree Limmys which my friend has already AI'd for me with Magnum. 2 confirmed. We spring calf the commercials but I'm open on the Limmys as of now, nothing set in stone regarding them. I do keep my own replacments so AI'ing heifers is something I would hope to tackle one day! But I would still have a Bull about the place. I suppose it would mainly be for the Limmys which as of today is only a very small number

My problem is I live on an island so getting people here and getting the syncing to match ferry times might prove a little difficult

 

[Ballygreenan]

I see. The other piece of advice I would offer is that if you do go ahead and get the training done you need to get rid of the bull! He will be your worst enemy (psychologically) in the early days because if you try a cow which is a wee bit awkward you will most likely give up and "just let the bull in" therefore you won't know if it was your Ai or the bull that got her pregnant!

 

[Farmer Fin]

Look up Embryonics. They are a Cheshire based vet practice who do training all over. There were grants for beef AI courses a few years ago.

 

[Jdunn55]

I must admit, I disagree about beef heifers being more difficult. I did my course in march last year and wasnt allowed to buy a flask until the autumn and then obviously really struggled with it (not that dad could understand why). Out of the dozen I served the only ones that got in calf were the heifers. I found the cows to be quite different to the holsteins I learned on and therefore really struggled. The other thing I disagree with is getting rid of the bull. You should be ai'ing 12-24 hours after bulling so by that point it's too late for the bull anyway. He'll also help with those cows that are later calving in the block and help tighten up the block. That's just what I found in my experience hope this helps.

 

[Whitepeak]

I did my course through Semex, I would have thought they'd do courses in Scotland as their UK office is in Ayrshire.
AHDB Beef & Lamb were/are offering 50% off ai courses, not sure if the same is available in Scotland.

 

[Sid]

I did my course through Semex, I would have thought they'd do courses in Scotland as their UK office is in Ayrshire.
AHDB Beef & Lamb were/are offering 50% off ai courses, not sure if the same is available in Scotland.

For suckler farmers.
They were doing the same in the SW

 

[Sid]

http://www.farmskills.co.uk/courses/?category=Beef
@CollCrofter

 

[Scholsey]

Embryonics did mine.

 

[Willy A]

Embryonics for me as well. I AI my own cows for 3 weeks and then put the bull in. I have about 25 suckler cows and have no bother doing heifers and cows. I also AI for a few neighbours to keep my hand in. Cows 12 hours after standing heat. Heifers are easier to AI on standing heat when you first start. They can be a bit fiddly. I was able to keep my old bull for years as all replacement heifers were from AI.

 

[Angus]

I must admit, I disagree about beef heifers being more difficult. I did my course in march last year and wasnt allowed to buy a flask until the autumn and then obviously really struggled with it (not that dad could understand why). Out of the dozen I served the only ones that got in calf were the heifers. I found the cows to be quite different to the holsteins I learned on and therefore really struggled. The other thing I disagree with is getting rid of the bull. You should be ai'ing 12-24 hours after bulling so by that point it's too late for the bull anyway. He'll also help with those cows that are later calving in the block and help tighten up the block. That's just what I found in my experience hope this helps.

Was your course held in the West Country @Jdunn55 ?

 

[CollCrofter]

My apologies, I completely forgot about this thread!

 

[CollCrofter]

Embryonics for me as well. I AI my own cows for 3 weeks and then put the bull in. I have about 25 suckler cows and have no bother doing heifers and cows. I also AI for a few neighbours to keep my hand in. Cows 12 hours after standing heat. Heifers are easier to AI on standing heat when you first start. They can be a bit fiddly. I was able to keep my old bull for years as all replacement heifers were from AI.

Do you sync or use your eye for detection?

 

[Willy A]

Do you sync or use your eye for detection?

Just use my eye for detection. I have used tail paint before and it can be handy for cows that don't stand very long.

 

[CollCrofter]

Just use my eye for detection. I have used tail paint before and it can be handy for cows that don't stand very long.

Good success?

 

[farmerclare]

I certainly wouldn't advise attempting to Ai heifers in your first year post training either.

Why not ?

 

[Ballygreenan]

Why not ?

Initially Ai technique is about confidence. I think of it in stages, as I tell my DIY customers who are starting out on their own. 1st step is after you get your first insemination to go past 3 weeks non-return. 2nd step is when you get the first positive PD/Scanning. The final kick to really boost confidence is when the first calf from your Ai hits the ground!

Heifers, by their nature, are more difficult mostly because their cervix is so fine (think baling twine or a floppy biro pen!) cows, particularly more mature ones, have a thicker more developed cervix, which when they are in heat feels firmer (has 'tone') and is a fair bit easier to negotiate than a heifer's.

As a rule heifers are slightly easier to Ai when 'standing' on heat as the cervix is more open and they quite often produce 'bulling slime' when you palpate them.

 

[farmerclare]

I know all that.

When I did my course, we practised on dairy cows who weren't bulling. These are a lot harder to do than bulling heifers so why shouldn't I AI heifers after I'd done my course.? I felt just as confident doing heifers as cows.

 

[Henarar]

I know all that.

When I did my course, we practised on dairy cows who weren't bulling. These are a lot harder to do than bulling heifers so why shouldn't I AI heifers after I'd done my course.? I felt just as confident doing heifers as cows.

good results to