How to Breed Dexter Cattle - Synchronized Artificial Insemination

Last year we bred our cows using Synchronized Artificial Insemination and were very please with the process and results. It was the first time we've used solely AI to breed our herd since 2014. We documented the process to share with all of you who are interested in learning more about artificial insemination & CIDR.

Here is a little background on our cattle breeding experience and why we have chosen artificial insemination:

We started our herd in 2011 with a bred Dexter cow and bred heifer. In 2012 we took our cows to a bull to be bred. That meant they were off our place for a few months, and we did not like that. In 2013 and 2014 we purchased straws of semen from New York to breed our cows using AI on our place. 2015 & 2016 we used AI and then a cleanup bull.

Although the bull was amazingly gentle, there were several downsides to having a bull on the place for a small herd like ours. Bulls eat a lot and are rough on fences and corrals. We only had access to the bull when it's owner was done breeding his herd, which put some of our calves later than we would like.

In 2017 we had one heifer, Shadow, sired by Fire, the clean up bull we'd been using ,who was ready to breed, along with one other heifer and four cows. We also hoped to calve a little earlier in the year, so we chose to try only using AI. Our first four cows were bred when they came into natural heat. Accurate record keeping and vigilantly watching the herd is necessary during breeding when using AI. We will share our breeding calendar and record keeping in a future video.

This video shows synchronized breeding of Daisy, a cow that calved late and we were trying to move up her calving a few months, and Shadow, a young heifer that we had never seen in heat. The CIDR worked great for Daisy who took the first try, and Shadow, although she didn't take the first try, came into natural heat three weeks later and was successfully bred.

Our AI tech drives within several miles of our place every day to breed dairy cows, so he is readily accessible and very good at what he does. We appreciate his interest in our small herd, and taking the time to explain the process of Synchronized Breeding and artificial insemination.


Music - Funny Song by BENSOUND bensound.com/royalty-free-... Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/b... Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/9mHpr8lhjZE