Cow Reproduction Services

Increase profits by improving cows reproduction performance! Your local VetEnt dairy reproduction service provides the knowledge and tools you need. 

Introduction to cows reproduction

When it comes to reproduction in cows, performance in your herd is a major contributor to profitability, whether this be through a compact calving or number of empty cows. There is no simple recipe for high performance in reproduction of cows because every farm is different and requires its own plan. This is where VetEnt’s dairy reproduction team come in.

ReproMAP

A genius when it comes to reproduction in cows, ReproMAP is the ultimate tool for dairy reproduction. This innovative VetEnt programme brings together all of the reproductive information relevant to your particular farm, with an appropriate reporting system.

With over 20 trained InCalf advisors, our cows reproduction team provide the most comprehensive dairy reproduction consultancy in New Zealand. We have the experience, international expertise and enthusiasm to see your herd improve. By combining the research knowledge from the Dairy NZ InCalf initiative with the extensive records from InfoVet, our cows reproduction experts can pin-point where your herd can improve.

Cows reproduction consultancy – how does it work?

During multiple meetings throughout the year, our dairy reproduction consultants work with InCalf’s so-called ‘8 pieces of the pie’ model. Combined with your records and our systems for analysis we can make a true difference.

The planning process allows you to think about the different options available and where you might like to implement them. The reviewing allows us to see how your dairy reproduction is tracking, what has actually been happening and how your plan is following through. At each planning and reviewing session you will receive a bound booklet with our extensive analysis and a follow-up report on our discussions.

Cows reproduction – the 8 pieces of the pie

The 8 pieces of the pie to reproduction in cows are as follows: (click on the links for more information)

1. Calf and Heifer management (find out more in Animal Health Plan and Rearing Replacements)
2. Body condition & nutrition
3. Heat detection
4. Dealing with non cyclers (find out more in Non-cycling Cows)
5. Sire selection & AB
6. Bull management
7. Cow health (find out more in Animal Health Plan) 
8. Calving pattern

Cows reproduction – pregnancy testing

Pregnancy testing is a great tool for gaining information about your cows’ reproduction performance. VetEnt staff are very experienced at pregnancy testing and undergo extensive annual training to ensure we provide the most accurate information and additional advice on areas such as aborting foetuses, twins, pyometras and ovary scanning. Different farmers use this service in different ways:

Cows reproduction – phantom scanning

Isn’t it annoying when a cow you were certain was in calf turns up empty in January or February without warning? This is what we call phantom cows; cows that essentially pretend to be pregnant for the season but are actually empty. We are uncertain why they do this and our cows reproduction experts are currently researching the matter.

For the past 5 years, we have found that between 10% and 12% of the cows scanned at 35 to 42 days have been phantom cows. This is very costly, so how do you detect them?

VetEnt’s cows reproduction vets are training to age pregnancies down to 35 days. We come out in weeks 6, 7 and 8 to scan week 1, 2 and 3 of your mating (pregnancies are between 35 and 42 days at this time). Providing the cows have not been mated, we can confirm them to be empty and decide whether you would like to intervene to try and get them in calf. Phantom scanning is typically done in November, and requires excellent record-keeping and tail-painting.

Cows reproduction – AB scanning (preferred by most farmers)

Another test our dairy reproduction team offer is AB scanning, which is done 6 weeks after AB finishes. This pregnancy test is useful to confirm your AB conception rates. It may aid in the decision of when to take the bull out, but is also useful to work out if the plan you have put in place to compact your calving is working. Any cows that have no detectable pregnancy at the time of scan (so-called re-checks) will be re-scanned 6 weeks after the bull is taken out. This will give you accurate calving dates for the whole herd and can be used for cows reproduction analysis later on.

Cows reproduction – late aged scan/inductions

This scan is done 6 weeks after the bull has been removed from the herd. All pregnancies will be aged up to 100 days.

Cows reproduction – late yes/no scan

This dairy reproduction scan is done any time after the bull has been out for 6 weeks. It is most popular for heifers or if farmers would like to re-scan the herd before the winter to pick up any lost pregnancies. This scan is not suitable for anyone looking at inducing.

Recording reproduction in cows

The most common method of recording pregnancy testing is to use our durable touch-screen computers. You can enter the cow and all her mating dates show up at the touch of a button. No more shuffling paper around to find the cow! This can then be automatically uploaded into MINDA for you and of course be used easily and efficiently for any cows reproduction analysis you choose. If you prefer, you are of course always most welcome to use paper.

Dairy reproduction data collection

When the season is finished you can be certain that you will be able to benchmark against your fellow farmers with our extensive collection of data. We now have 5 years worth of electronic data on 6-week-in-calf rates, empty rates, conception rates, submission rates and mating lengths at our fingertips so you can track your performance of reproduction in cows.

You may also be interested in Animal Health Plans or

Rearing Replacements or Performance Tracking with Infovet.