Is my Cattle on Heat?
Detecting heat on time and the reproductive continuity of the herd have vital importance for both dairy and beef farmers.
To succeed in dairy cattle businesses, cattle should be calved in 12-13 months. The most important parameter for achieving this goal is to ensure that the cow / heifer is inseminated and becomes pregnant. In order for an animal to be inseminated, first of all, its heat must be detected correctly. When cows exhibit signs of mating while they are not pregnant, it is called heat (estrus), and cows will come on heat every 21 days on average during the period they are not pregnant. During the 21-days estrus period, the time cow / heifer should be inseminated is quite limited. In order to catch such a limited insemination period, it is very important to catch the time that heat starts. Success in heat detection directly affects pregnancy rates. Therefore, determining the heat time correctly is the most important step to increase insemination success.
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Behavioral and physiological changes occur while cows are on heat. They are more likely to stand, especially at night, and rarely lay down during the day. When a cow mounts to another cow, there is a possibility to observe the heat. The most important sign of heat is that the animal being mounted is not disturbed and standing at the bottom. When we look carefully at the rump regions of the animals in this regard, it is seen that there is dirt on it and hair messing due to these jumping behaviors. In addition, activity increases, their feed intake decreases, and some decrease in milk yield is observed in cows showing heat signs. One of the most prominent features is cervicovaginal mucus, commonly called vaginal discharge. Vaginal discharge is transparent and sticky. At the same time, the vulva of the animal in heat appears more edematous and swollen.
In order for these changes to be detected, the animals should be observed regularly. Therefore, the most effective way to determine heat is considered as observation. However, studies have shown that the signs of estrus mostly appear at night. For this reason, the number, timing and duration of observations are important criteria in the success of determining heat.
Insemination of cows / heifers at the optimal time improves the business profit by providing maximum reproductive efficiency. Inability to maximize reproductive efficiency happens generally due to errors in detecting heat and determining the insemination time. Every animal that cannot be inseminated at the right time causes both time loss and expenses such as insemination costs. Breeders must determine the time of onset of heat so that they can determine the optimal insemination time. It is the only possible way to get a calf from a cow every year on a regular basis.
You can easily determine the heat in your herd with the M2Moo Heat Detection System, which gives information about whether your animals are on heat by tracking the daily activity data of your animals. M2Moo, which can be integrated into the MilkingCloud Herd Management Software, can easily detect heat and also silent heat which is non-observable and non-trackable. In this way, you will not miss heat and you can inseminate your animals on time. Thanks to this, the targeted pregnancy rates can be obtained and you can increase the productivity and profitability of your herd.
