2012 | ReproDoc Ltd.

Fattening cull cows not justified at current cattle and feed prices

Visited a client outside Delvin, Co. Westmeath where I scanned cows for fattening. The client wanted to identify those cows pregnant and who would not suit the fattening period of 100 days. He informed me that he is now planning to buy cull cows for fattening this autumn on the basis of cattle and feed […]

First major win for Holstein breeder Pat Coffey, Clonakilty, Co Cork at Tullamore show

First major win for Holstein breeder Pat Coffey, Clonakilty, Co Cork at Tullamore show yesterday. There were a large number of cows in the class which had won at previous shows around the country earlier in the summer.

Scanning cows in the rain

The main contrast between the North and South of Ireland in terms of handling cattle is the increased availability of indoor crushes in the North of Ireland. We found that heavy rainfall interfered with the maintenance of a Bluetooth connection between the scanner and a remote handheld computer. Our Engineer has built a protective housing […]

Scanning heifers destined for export to Russia

Visited a client outside Milford, Co. Cork who presented a dairy herd plus maiden heifers which had been ai’d and were running with a stock bull. He planned to export these heifers as part of a consignment to Russia. Criteria for supplying these heifers for export are, one where the herd has to be free […]

Embryonic mortality reduces overall reproductive performance

On farm visits to dairy farmers outside Ballyferritear, Co. Kerry revealed a high incidence of late embryonic death. When embryonic death occurs after 25 days it increases the length of the eostrus cycle. However one farmer expressed his delight by the scanning service, whereby his cows are given extra opportunity to settle back in calf.

10 Week breeding programmes with pregnancy rates ranging between 44 and 89% on dairy farms visited in Co. Kerry

We visited 10 dairy farms throughout, Co. Kerry where pregnancy rates for cows served between 20 and 90 days ranged between 44% and 89%. Malnutrition for cows running on high milk production units was encountered on some units. This was in my opinion a main contributor factor with poor fertility. In one farm a British […]

Scanning cows essential to verify pregnancy status in a T.B. outbreak

On a farm visit to a client in County Limerick. All reproductive data was collected by us for the client. All animals scanned were recorded for retrospective measuring of cows that were in calf. A vet was reading a T.B. test while we were scanning the herd he identified 4 reactors. Fortunately, we had recorded […]

Scanning cows reveals an association between a lightning storm and time of foetal death

A client contacted me following the scan of his cows in West Cork. We identified a number of cases of foetal death where we aged death of foetuses between 40 and 45 days. The farmer identified on the basis of A.I. dates that foetal death occurred 14 days prior to the date of scanning. A […]

Scanning cows shows a high level of late embryonic mortality

A noted feature of the farm visits in East Waterford and North Cork was the high incidence of late embryonic mortality between 35 and 60 days. This was compounded by a high incidence among cows carrying twins. This in my opinion is associated with the harsh weather conditions for the past six weeks. Dry matter […]

Conserving silage in poor weather

Panic seems to have set in at this stage where farmers want to conserve silage in all weathers. The culmination of rainfall in the past 6 weeks and heavy thunder showers in the day have left ground conditions in an awful state. Panic has set in at this stage. Silage is being conserved in driving […]