I always try to follow best-practice in how I approach breeding within my suckler herd.
I only breed for six weeks, with no animal getting any more than two chances with artificial insemination (AI).
I regularly hear from farmers who think that this is being too strict and that I should give some of my better cows another chance. Down through the years, I have culled some really good-looking cows because they are not in-calf.
There are times when I have questioned my logic, but then I convince myself that they would have been in-calf if they were good cows. I try to forget about looks and concentrate on productivity.
But it’s not always easy, and I am no different than anyone else – I have favourites and there are cows that I like more than others.
Simmental heifer
At the start of last year, I had a nice red and white Simmental heifer. She was really well marked and I was very keen to get her in-calf and have her as a cow.
I AI’d her twice and she didn’t go in-calf. But she came into heat just after I had finished my breeding season and it was then that I had a “senior moment.”
I decided to give her another go and to make matters worse, I decided to try something different. A few years ago, I bought some Irish Moiled straws for a man who had pedigree Irish Moiled cows.
They were fine cows, and I was extremely impressed with them. He had some very nice calves, although they were quite small.
Sadly, this man died and I haven’t been back for a few years. I’m not really sure what happened to the cows.
However, I was left with a few Irish Moiled straws in my flask and no-one else wanting them.
Short gestation
Back to my heifer. I pulled up the goblet and I saw these Irish Moiled straws and thought I would try one, thinking that it will use up a straw and she probably won’t go in-calf in any event. If she did hold, my thinking was that her gestation would be short and she might produce a nicely coloured calf. Well, she scanned in-calf and produced a red and white heifer only a couple of days after the rest of my herd.
It’s certainly a hardy wee calf, but at five months old, it’s still very small. It’s around half the size of the rest of the calves and every time I look at it I think to myself “what have I done”.
Cut my loss
To make matters worse, the mother didn’t go in-calf again. She is earmarked for culling this year. So I am not feeling very proud of myself – I should have cut my loss last winter and let the heifer go then.
It is not all bad. I have a healthy calf which can hold its own and is not afraid to push in for meal. I don’t know what will eventually become of it but I’m using it to remind myself to be more careful not to have another “senior moment”.
I now need to have a bit of a clear out of my AI flask. There are too many odd straws in there that I got for other people, which will never be used. I don’t want to be tempted to use some of them again.