Pull calves for 48 hours before AI - Anyone do this?

[Farmgirl]

Vet recommended pulling the calves off of the cows for 48 hours before breeding.

The cows are first calvers. One is a BCS 6 the other is a BCS 5. Good milkers. Their calves are growing like weeds (3 pounds/day). Calves are eating good and grazing. Calves will be +-90 days old at breeding time. Calves have had their first round of shots. Plan to give second round before AIing cows. Both cows settled on first AI last year as heifers. Cows passed placentas quickly. One was a pretty tough pull. We have not seen the cows in heat. Doesn't mean anything. We don't see them everyday. We plan to sync them with CIDRs/estradial and do timed AI.

We have mixed feeling about doing it. Who do you listen to if you can't listen to your vet? Anyone have experience with this?

Thanks,
Farmgirl

 

[dun]

If you're going to sync them I don;t understand the point in the calf removal. To get a cow to start cycling it's sometimes recommended to remove the calves, but the hormones you pump into them for the sync process should get them cycling.

dun

 

[endebt]

We have been doing this for 4 or 5 years. It seems to bring them in season. It also keeps our calving season down to about 45 days. We run the bulls for 63 days. The cows show no ill effect. We just calved 38 out of 39 in 39 days. We had 1 hiefer abort about 1 month early.

 

[milkmaid]

http://cattletoday.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16308

Four-page thread on pulling calves. I wouldn't do it and my opinion and reasoning is on there.

 

[Farmgirl]

I've seen that thread MM. I wonder if the vet just doesn't want to have to bother with the calves. If the vet breeds them we will be taking them to the vet's place for a couple of days. We have another option. We have an AI tech that will come to our place.

Thanks,
Farmgirl

 

[capt]

farmgirl,

Pulling calves off the cow prior to breeding will help stimulate a return to estrus, however in your case where your cows are already 90 days postpartum and you are planning on synchronizing anyway, pulling the calves off will just stress the calves unnecessarily. Kind of doubling things up so to speak. If they were my cows I would also have the AI tech come to them rather than haul the cows. Depends on cost of course.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I agree with CAPT. One thing you do not want to do for AI is stressing the cows. Hauling to a different location is not the best thing to do - unless they have been shown all over & are used to being trucked around.
Many research articles talk about pulling calves for 48 hours to get the cows cycling. But, yours should be cycling and sync program shouldn't need any extra help.