Breeding: Here is why you should record heat detections
According to Teagasc, the goal is to get 90% of cows served in the first 3 weeks of the breeding season. Recording heat detection for a full month before the start of the breeding season gives every cow the chance to come into heat at least once before they are due to be bulled.
You can then quickly check what cows have not come into heat or have had no heat observed and take action based on that.
Cows that have not cycled since calving can be treated before the breeding season starts, which should help you hit the 90% mark in the first 3 weeks.
What Counties are recording the most heat detection in Herdwatch
As we head into the breeding season, we looked at the top 5 counties recording heats at the moment. Cork, Kerry, Tipp, Wexford and Clare are the top 5 that are recording over 60% of the heat detections in Herdwatch.
| COUNTY 2017 % |
| 1) CORK 28% |
| 2) KERRY 11% |
| 3) TIPPERARY 10% |
| 4) WEXFORD 9% |
| 5) CLARE 7% |
Managing your Breeding season with Herdwatch
Recording your breeding records could’nt be easier with Herdwatch app, you can:
- Record Heat Dections
- Record Serves or Bulling Records
- Herdwatch will tell you when cows are due to come in heat
- Herdwatch will tell you when cows have not come in heat since calving.
- All breeding information recorded through Herdwatch gets sent to the ICBF automatically.
Herdwatch users cut calving intervals by 26 days, increasing productionAccording to ICBF figures, the national average calving interval for a dairy herd was 392 days in 2015, compared with just 366 days, or 26 days less, for dairy farmers using the Herdwatch app. |
