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Game, Set and Match - maybe not!
By the time you read this play at Wimbledon will hopefully have finished - That is unless rain stops play as normal and they use the following week - Murray, Federer and their tennis playing chums will have sweated their way around SW19 serving up all manner of aces but what about your cows being served?
With us getting into the summer months and the majority of dairy cows outside; farmers often turn their attention to other jobs and spend less time with the cows. The main knock on effect we see of this at Westpoint is the characteristic drop in pregnancies generated, below our monthly targets, normally because fewer cows are being served.
With the average calving interval for Holsteins at 428 days and Jerseys at 411 (NMR) this represents a massive "health" cost with it being well accepted that fertility performance can have a massive impact on your businesses performance especially if it is allowed to slip. With averages like these it looks like a lot of herds have slipped a long way!
We are all aware that for a cow to get in calf she first must be cycling, be served and then conceive to that service. Conception rates can be very hard to alter and the list of things that can affect conception rates are long. Getting cows cycling means we must look closely at the dry period and fresh calvers to ensure that their energy balance is as favourable as possible. However heat detection rates can, normally, be easily altered and with big improvements made in a very short period, resulting in more pregnant cows.
So what can we do? The basics of heat detection are all about either spending more time spotting bullers, making spotting bulling cows easier through heat detection aids, or even paying someone to specifically do that job. These all have their pros and cons especially when it comes down to cost and investment but there is nearly always a cost benefit at the end of the day. It's certainly worth discussing with your vet to see where you are and discussing if and how things could be improved.
Don't forget about the Livestock Health South East (LHSE) organised training courses available, they are free and well worth attending. This month they are running courses on Practical Youngstock Rearing at Westpoints Winchester, Midhurst, Sevenoaks, Warnham and Ashford practices. Call 07549 843380 or visit their website www.livestockhealthsoutheast.org.uk
Phil McIntosh BVM&S MRCVS
Practice principal at Westpoint's Winchester practice.