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Smart scan reveals the importance of onset of puberty in maiden heifers.
05 Feb 2020On a call today outside of Cookstown county Tyrone, they revealed a batch of maiden heifers being assessed for fertility status. smart scan revealed 3 maiden heifers which had failed to show heat although eligible for breeding purposes, they had reached their target weights and were reared with a group of counterparts which had all been submitted for a service and were either confirmed pregnant or were less than 3 weeks served.
Further discussion with the farmer revealed that the 3 maiden heifers not fit for breeding were all served from the same sire, called Jordey Red.
This revealed high probability that a genetic component in breeding giving rise to impaired reproductive performance. it should be noted that the late puberty in maiden heifers is associated with poor survivability and is a heritable trait. smart scan technology is an integral tool in optimising reproductive performance in your herd by identifying animals with inferior reproductive traits, thus enabling you to exclude these animals from the replacements being introduced to your dairy herd.