Ovsynch programmes should not be used in conjugation with breeding maiden heifers using sex semen.

19 Dec 2019

On calls in Derry & Tyrone this week where farmers want to breed batches of maiden heifers using sex semen. For convenience & to optimise the number of animals bred over short period of time, ovsynch programmes have been recommended to reduce the risk associated with use of sex semen where pregnancy outcomes may be lower.

In our experience using ScanSmart from ReproDoc these programmes are not successful in terms of pregnancy rate to services using sex semen and true oestrous detection rate following ovsynch programmes. If the heifers are fit and reproductively sound based on ScanSmart one could consider an ovsynch programme.

However, this is adding a tremendous additional cost which in my opinion are not warranted. In our experience this week, we encountered farms where 30/40 % of heifers been presented for ovsynch programmes were not cycling or had reproductive abnormalities. ScanSmart from ReproDoc enables you to identify these animals that are not fit for breeding. These animals can be grouped separately to remove any potential underlying stressors and thereby induce to cyclicity naturally.

If heifers are not fit for breeding ovsynch programmes will results in very poor pregnancy rates and financial outlay resulting in high cost per pregnancy generated.

Testimonials

ReproDoc provide us with reproductive assessment of our cows prior to breeding – early non-pregnancy diagnosis, assessment of cows with reproductive problems, accurate ageing of pregnancies in particular where stock bulls are used towards the latter half of the breeding programmes and the sexing of pregnancies which is used from management of cows prior to calving to avoid calving difficulty. All scans are accurate which is most important. Prior to using Reprodoc, I had other men in scanning and did not get this accuracy which was a disaster.

Maurice Harty