Heat Detection Systems

[Holsteinfriesian90]

Wouldn’t the bolus be a waste when the cow dies or is culled?

 

[Cookie]

I think there is potential to cut a lot of cost out. If you are using RMS on 600 cows at £30/cow and then tying up £30k in bulls you'll be looking at £48k per annum for heat detection and serving.

We block calve, DIY AI with collars and a seg gate. To run our system you would need:

Seg gate 7k
Base station 2k
600 collars 60k

Call it £70k in total to get set up, collars should last 5 years though so it's a good return IF (big IF) you maintain or improve fertility. Our system has lasted 10 years, I'm running low on collars though so may look to update it next year, I think you can hire collars now which may be a better bet for a block calver.

Labour wise for DIY AI it was around an hour/day in first 3 weeks, maybe half an hour now we're into week 7 and things are quietening down.

You would also have the opportunity cost of freeing up an extra 14 spaces for milking cows

 

[frederick]

As said about bolus if cow breaks leg following day you are binning the bolus.
Cowmanager here. 8 cull bulls will have paid capital outlay for 300 cows now just monthly subscription.
Still a week to early to really tell but think I've lifted sexed conception rates by 5-10% by serving tad and a bit later after onset.

With auto Id finding the cow after it appears on the phone is simple. In your system not sure how you find them. There is a scanner. @farmer on a bike might be able to shed some light.

 

[Beef farmer]

Few pointers

Need a seg gate x3
Why so many bulls, we like to rotate bulls often and if we expect to use them 2x year then we will need more to allow for more work. 12 would be enough, but we fert tested the bulls inly a month ago and 1 was no good so he went, that made us 1 bull short.
1 bull 1st day knackered his front left foot, not sure how or where but that was 2 down. The rest have served us well.
Its the increased conception that you hear people talk about that gets me thinking everytime. As long as people arnt raving about them to justify the expense spent.

 

[frederick]

Few pointers

Need a seg gate x3
Why so many bulls, we like to rotate bulls often and if we expect to use them 2x year then we will need more to allow for more work. 12 would be enough, but we fert tested the bulls inly a month ago and 1 was no good so he went, that made us 1 bull short.
1 bull 1st day knackered his front left foot, not sure how or where but that was 2 down. The rest have served us well.
Its the increased conception that you hear people talk about that gets me thinking everytime. As long as people arnt raving about them to justify the expense spent.

Since it's X3 why not just go on one unit this year where you think it could help most.
Seg gates are good but not perfect. At least in autumn's theyre still in the yard in springs there gone which might result in finding the odd one at the next milking.

 

[Beef farmer]

Since it's X3 why not just go on one unit this year where you think it could help most.
Seg gates are good but not perfect. At least in autumn's theyre still in the yard in springs there gone which might result in finding the odd one at the next milking.

I think the springs is where it would be most beneficial.
I don't want them all in the yard being chalked up when they ought to be grazing.
At the moment my plan is to chuck people at it for 24 days with tail paint and scratch cards and draft of the parlour. Then day 24 turn in 6 bulls on rotation.

 

[frederick]

I think the springs is where it would be most beneficial.
I don't want them all in the yard being chalked up when they ought to be grazing.
At the moment my plan is to chuck people at it for 24 days with tail paint and scratch cards and draft of the parlour. Then day 24 turn in 6 bulls on rotation.

That will work fine but 6 bulls I don't think will be enough to last until the end of service.

A couple of other positives I am hoping for are more accurate calving dates with no bulls.
The finding of those couple cows that loose calves after doing pd being found before drying off.
For me we are now replacing Angus bulls with Belgian blue services which means calf value will be a bit better but the extra plus is we can sell them 10-14 days earlier freeing up pens and saving milk powder.

 

[Beef farmer]

That will work fine but 6 bulls I don't think will be enough to last until the end of service.

A couple of other positives I am hoping for are more accurate calving dates with no bulls.
The finding of those couple cows that loose calves after doing pd being found before drying off.
For me we are now replacing Angus bulls with Belgian blue services which means calf value will be a bit better but the extra plus is we can sell them 10-14 days earlier freeing up pens and saving milk powder.

6 bulls on rotation. So 12 working.

 

[frederick]

6 bulls on rotation. So 12 working.

I would in that case be tempted with 3 teams of 4 to start with 1 day on 2 off. Then drop to 2 teams when a couple fall out if action.

 

[Beef farmer]

That will work fine but 6 bulls I don't think will be enough to last until the end of service.

A couple of other positives I am hoping for are more accurate calving dates with no bulls.
The finding of those couple cows that loose calves after doing pd being found before drying off.
For me we are now replacing Angus bulls with Belgian blue services which means calf value will be a bit better but the extra plus is we can sell them 10-14 days earlier freeing up pens and saving milk powder.

I try not to get to caught up on calf value. Its such a tiny % of farm income. I just want pregnancies.
But agree about the few cows that reabsorb and get dried off, they all end up the same place mind

 

[farmer on a bike]

As said about bolus if cow breaks leg following day you are binning the bolus.
Cowmanager here. 8 cull bulls will have paid capital outlay for 300 cows now just monthly subscription.
Still a week to early to really tell but think I've lifted sexed conception rates by 5-10% by serving tad and a bit later after onset.

With auto Id finding the cow after it appears on the phone is simple. In your system not sure how you find them. There is a scanner. @farmer on a bike might be able to shed some light.

You can have a ‘find you cow option’ for extra money but we did not go for that we just make up a list before milking and then segregate them as they leave the parlour. For the heifers, I just go find them, not too bad in group of 66, would be more of an issue in a larger group. We have a pen beside the yard made up of hurdles and a calving hurdle which works well.

 

[frederick]

I try not to get to caught up on calf value. Its such a tiny % of farm income. I just want pregnancies.
But agree about the few cows that reabsorb and get dried off, they all end up the same place mind

But anything you can add to calf value is probably profit. So for me £30 more a calf £28 saving on milk powder comes to an additional 12k that would pay for the tags in its own right and with calves going earlier less pressure on calf unit and more time for the care of heifer calves.

 

[Beef farmer]

But anything you can add to calf value is probably profit. So for me £30 more a calf £28 saving on milk powder comes to an additional 12k that would pay for the tags in its own right and with calves going earlier less pressure on calf unit and more time for the care of heifer calves.

Yep I'm with you. Valid points. Tb means out calves go to a unit at an agreed price with seemingly little negotiation!

 

[Jamer]

But anything you can add to calf value is probably profit. So for me £30 more a calf £28 saving on milk powder comes to an additional 12k that would pay for the tags in its own right and with calves going earlier less pressure on calf unit and more time for the care of heifer calves.

Blues are also a lot more saleable Tb restricted.

 

[sidjon]

Could you not rent collars from Cogent? Can get bottle neck with data not being downloaded before first row is heading back to paddock, biggest reason i went for cogent collars as range is meant to be the greatest (2km) ,so data should be downloaded before cows get to shed for milking.

 

[Beef farmer]

Could you not rent collars from Cogent? Can get bottle neck with data not being downloaded before first row is heading back to paddock, biggest reason i went for cogent collars as range is meant to be the greatest (2km) ,so data should be downloaded before cows get to shed for milking.

You using a auto draft gate?

 

[sidjon]

You using a auto draft gate?

No,looking at it with protrack but not sure if it won't completely knacker up cow flow.

 

[Beef farmer]

No,looking at it with protrack but not sure if it won't completely knacker up cow flow.

With no freeze brands avalible, all done off management tags, if we cant use a seg gate then its pointless

 

[Jamer]

No,looking at it with protrack but not sure if it won't completely knacker up cow flow.

Who sells protrack gates nowadays please? I note LIC advertise service only to installed gates. I did see an advert in a WWS catalogue a while back.

 

[vantage]

Blues are also a lot more saleable Tb restricted.

REALLY? Meadow Q would only take BB bull, refused a heifer and offered about 40% , maybe different with you.