More than 90 percent of cows should have shown heat by 50 days postpartum. Cows should be cycling every 21 days by that time. The most reliable sign a cow is in heat is a stand to be mounted by another cow. Each stand lasts only four to six seconds.

Cows average about 1.5 mounts per hour and are in heat 15 hours. Therefore, cows are only in heat a little more than half a day and only spend a total of three to five minutes actually standing to be mounted. It is easy to understand why you must observe for heat several times throughout the day.

The management of fresh cows is one of the most important factors in the daily activities on a dairy. The people in charge of this area must have the experience and ability to detect problems early in these transition animals in order to prevent negative effects on the reproductive performance of the herd.

There are several types of diseases and deficiencies that fresh cows face, but we will only focus on the reproductive problems in this article.

Breeding is both an art and a science. Artists like what they do; they focus their attention and their natural skills to produce exceptional results.

The science of breeding means knowing the facts about heat detection and semen thawing and placement. It means you don’t take shortcuts, don’t do your own thing, and do work according to protocols.

I’d like to clarify the art and science components of breeding to help you get one more additional cow pregnant each day that you breed.

Why is using ultrasound in a breeding program important?
Using ultrasound in a breeding program is critical to maximizing reproductive rates. Ultrasound provides more and better information than rectal palpation, such as being able to detect dead fetuses and ovarian cysts (which prevent cows from cycling normally or makes her come into heat every few days). If dairies use this information in managing the breeding program, it can lead to more pregnancies.