THERE'S no doubt about it, the easiest way to get any animal pregnant is to introduce it to a member of the opposite sex! Unfortunately, as far as cattle are concerned, this isn't always an option.

Many farmers and smallholders in particular, keep small herds, which means keeping their own bull is often both impractical and uneconomical. A lot, including us, tend to get around this by borrowing a neighbour's bull, but care needs to be taken here as there is a risk of disease and you do need to comply with movement rules, which adds to the paper work and there is the in-breeding problem if you are keeping your own replacements. At the time of writing, foot and mouth restrictions are still in force so even if you normally use a neighbour's bull this may not be an option this year.

The alternative is artificial insemination, which adds a middle man to the breeding process in the form of an AI technician.

AI, or artificial insemination, was developed during the 1930s and soon became popular with dairy herds who realised it was a quick and relatively cheap way of improving milk yields without continually having to pay out on high-costing pedigree bulls.

I well remember the AI man coming to our farm when I was growing up in the fifties as it was always heralded by my grandpa telling my grandma to ring for the bull in the bowler hat. I can't recall if the AI man actually did wear a bowler hat, but I do remember being hugely disappointed when a small van drew into the yard instead of a bull sporting a bowler!

Initially, the Milk Marketing Board was responsible for running AI centres, but since its demise, all centres are now run privately and the technicians wear rubber suits and the ones that visit us, don't wear hats of any kind!

As far as the stockman is concerned, the process begins with a call to your local AI centre or direct to the technician if he has given you his mobile number. You will be asked to leave your name, address and telephone number and cattle breed you require. All this information is important, but if you want a less common breed then you need to discuss this with the centre before your cows come on heat as it may have to be ordered from specialist breeders and will take some time to obtain.

The technician may return your call to ask for further information, but most likely will just turn up so make sure that you are around to attend to him! You'll also need to ensure the cow is securely restrained, preferably by using a crush which is a metal box or cage with a sliding "hatch" that holds the animal by the neck and prevents undue struggling and kicking.

Bull semen is stored in plastic straws which are slotted into a special insemination gun. This is then inserted into the cow's vagina and positioned so that the semen is deposited beyond the cervix (neck of the womb). The procedure is painless and only takes a couple of minutes after which the cow can be released to go about her normal business.

The technician will give you a form filled in with not only the cow's details, but the details of the bull used and date of service. It is important that you keep this as it will enable you to get an accurate calving date and to work out when the cow is next due on heat if the insemination fails.

As you've probably realised, successful AI depends on timing so you really do need to be able to detect when a cow is on heat or "bulling", with a fair degree of accuracy. The signs vary somewhat between different animals so observation is crucial and certainly while you are watching for signs of heat, you should allow two half hour periods each day simply to watch how the herd behaves.

Oestrus or heat in non-pregnant cattle occurs every 18-24 days and a cow is only fertile when the egg has been released from the ovary, about 10-14 hours after the standing heat period. To ensure the best chances of conception you should aim to A.I. your cows during the 12-18 hour period after standing heat is noticed.

So what is standing heat? When bulling, the main signs shown by cattle is a predisposition to ride each other. In the early stages the ovulating cow may be the one doing the mounting or attempting to mount another. At this stage she will usually refuse to allow another animal to mount her, but as heat progresses, she will eventually stand while she is mounted. This is known as "standing heat" and it is during the next few hours that insemination should take place.

Use this rough and ready guide to ensure maximum success:

  • Cows first showing signs of heat in the morning should be bred that evening. Leaving it until next day will be too late.
  • Cows first showing signs of heat in the evening should be inseminated the next morning. Leaving it until after 3p.m. will be too late.

As human observation is critical for detecting bulling cows, knowing a little about cattle behaviour can pay dividends. Studies have shown that the best time to observe cows showing signs of heat is from midnight to 6am when around 43 per cent of cows exhibit heat behaviour. Since most of us are still tucked up in bed during this period, it probably isn't an option! Fortunately, you've still a reasonably good chance of picking up clear signals by watching first thing in the morning and during the evening, particularly when the sun starts to go down.

The more you stand and observe, the more "tuned" in you tend to get so the first sign that usually alerts me to a bulling cow is when I see an apparently inseparable couple slightly apart from the main herd. If you can get near enough you may see a thin clear discharge, but this isn't always noticeable so its absence shouldn't deter you from discounting heat. Other signs might include undue restlessness and bellowing.

Apart from relying solely on your eyes, there are a couple of ways that can help with heat detection. Tail chalking is probably the most popular as it is cheap and relatively easy to implement.

A coloured spray is painted along the top of the tail up to the hip bones. We usually start with red but you can get a whole range of colours which might influence what you use if you are colour blind! The idea is that when a cow is mounted the paint will be disturbed leaving the fur ruffled and possibly some different coloured hairs embedded in the paint from the mounting cow. Of course close observation is needed so you must be able to get near the animal to examine the marks.

You can also discuss synchronisation with your vet, but as this involves hormonal implants and injections, for most smallholders this is probably a bit extreme as it does add to costs.

The AI procedure is relatively simple so success rates ought to be high. Unfortunately, the high reliance on human skill means that there are a lot of factors that can bring conception rates down. Full time technicians usually have more success than DIY inseminators who may only be inseminating two or three cows a week or even less. Then there is the timing factor to take into account. Getting this wrong will greatly reduce success rate.

Stress can also play a part in preventing pregnancy even though other factors have been properly catered for. For this reason you should aim to keep animals as quiet as possible. Don't shout and bully into crushes or allow dogs to snap at heels. I find that a bit of bribery with a bucket often yields the best results!

Don't be tempted to do AI yourself without proper training! For one thing you are likely to waste a lot of time by cows returning to heat due to your low success rates and secondly, you could damage the cows reproductive organs. If you think you have enough cattle to warrant do the job yourself, go on an approved training course and get qualified.

Resources:
Artificial Insemination, Genus Breeding Ltd, Alpha Building, London Road, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 7JW. Phone number 0870 1622000. Fax number 01270 616700. Email: cs@genusbreeding.co.uk; http://www.genusbreeding.co.uk