By Special Request: HEAT DETECTION FOR BREEDING

I don't want to be confusing, so I looked up an uncomplicated way to say this.  According to the internet, "Heat (estrus) is simply the period of time when a cow or heifer is sexually receptive, and it signals that an egg, ready to be fertilized, is about to be released."



Since breeding is so important in having a successful project or program or business, heat detection is not taken lightly.


I use Estrotect heat detection stickers.  

You place one of these stickers across the spine of the female just above the tail head.  Mine look silver when you stick them on, and when they are rubbed, they reveal hot pink underneath.  The way the sticker gets rubbed is when that female gets mounted.


Since we use artificial insemination and rarely use an on site bull, the mounting comes from other females in the same pasture or pen.  It seems strange, but the other females sense heat and try to mount each other.  (They even show it on the logo of the Estrotect website above.  You can see that both of them have udders.)  If a female is truly in heat, she will not walk (or run) out from under the other one.  She will stand still and allow herself to be mounted by a female.  This is what is known as "standing in heat".  So when she is standing in heat, the contact of the other female as she jumps up on her rump causes the sticker to be rubbed and expose the hot pink.  When we see hot pink, we mark it on the calendar.  This helps us track her heat cycle.  We like to track it for several months leading up to time for breeding.  This helps us know when to arrange a visit from the professional so she can be A.I.ed (artificially inseminated).


Heat occurs every 18 to 24 days in sexually mature, open females.  "Open" means not currently pregnant.


Even though young heifers start showing signs of heat much earlier, we haven't bred any of mine until they were over 14 months old.  Once a cow has calved (given birth) she can be bred again in as few as 45 days.

Breeding is a science, but it is not exact.  Just because you do it by the book doesn't mean your animal is going to get pregnant right off.  This can become expensive.  Each time you A.I. you are paying for semen and you are paying for the A.I. process unless you have earned your own A.I. certification.  Sometimes you have to just send the heifer to visit a bull to get the job done.  This costs money, too.

Many things will keep your animal from conceiving.  She might have cysts in her uterus.  One of mine had a simple infection.  At another time, the weather was just too hot for her body to work properly and conceive.    Those are just a few of the reasons I know of. 


I put two heat detection stickers on yesterday.  I've got a cow that needs bred this month, and a heifer that needs bred next month.  So I'm keeping my eyes peeled for HOT PINK!