You’ll find this chapter on page 17-1 of your manual, feel free to follow along and make notes if you’d like. Good facilities for breeding are critical to the success or failure of any A.I. program. Facilities need not be elaborate, but must be efficient and provide safety for the inseminator and the cow or heifer.
Cows will need to be sorted, inseminated, and released.
It’s nice to have a separate facility for A.I.
Two key things to consider before you build. Do you have any existing facilities that can be used, and what’s the budget?
It’s a lot easier to get the cows to come to you than to have to chase them. Knowing where cattle congregate and at what times can be very helpful in patterning them.
It takes time to build the habit, so start construction of the facilities well in advance of the two week start of patterning.
Again stress can have a negative effect on fertility. A creep gap is one that’s wide enough for the calf to get through but not the cow. When the cows are synchronized and in heat the breeding time is here, it is not time to be lining up help. Do this well ahead of time.
At some point you will normally have to have the whole herd captured, so take that into consideration for your traps and holding pens.
A fundamental management tool. Without it you have chaos.
Cattle are creatures of habit, study their habits and design accordingly. A cow will always try to go out where she came in, use that to your advantage in trapping and moving them.
Here’s a simple design using an existing wall of a building or fence.
The holding pen can also be used as a trap when patterning.
A crowding pen is just that, it should be set up so that cattle are easily pushed into the stacking chute. A crowd gate that pushes them in will be safer for both you and the cattle.
Irregardless of herd size, the alley leading to the chute needs to be a minimum of 16 feet long.
It takes solid construction to hold cattle in, it’s no fun when they run off with the chute, or the herd breaks out after going to all the work of getting them in.
Even the largest of cows can get through a 28 inch alley way. Build it solidly.
Concrete is nice. A roof is beneficial for protecting semen as well as the inseminator.
Head gates are optional.
Cattle will stand quietly in a dark place; a breeding box capitalizes on that.
Here’s a plan for a breeding system containing a holding pen, crowding pen, stacking or working chute, and a head gate.
Dairy facilities should also concentrate on cow comfort.
What are the goals for your herd? Design your facility to meet them.
Headlocks make it very easy to do Vet checks and A.I.
There were concerns, but they have been disproved and are outweighed significantly by the benefits of efficiency.
Remember the cow needs to lay down about 60% of the time to properly ruminate. Dirt lots relieve stress.
If it’s easier on the cow it will be easier on those handling her too. Separate facilities are nice. It’s easier to get the cattle to come to you than to chase them.
Cows will look for a way out when trapped, generally in the area they came in. Handle cattle calmly to keep them from becoming stressed. ID is a fundamental management tool. The best facility is one that is efficient and cost effective.
Key things to remember when setting up your system.