Veterinarian View
Health & Reproduction questions answered and explained.
contributed article by Vince Collison DVM Collison Embryo | Collison Veterinary Services PC
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SYNCHRONIZING CATTLE
DETAILS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE As we enter breeding season, we get a lot of questions regarding the finer points of synchronizing cows for estrus. Here are the five most common questions answered:
program is a large percent of cows not displaying signs of estrus. If a producer gets to a point where they don’t have 30 days to get this done, then we recommend pushing the synchronization date back. If the owner cannot push the 1) Can I give my MLV pre-breed- date back, we feel it is better to ing vaccinations at the time we skip the vaccination prior to insert CIDRS? breeding and give it later at the The answer is no! This needs time of pregnancy exams with to be done a minimum of 30 a killed vaccine. If you find days prior to inserting CIDRS. yourself caught in this situaThe reason for this is that the tion, it is always best to consult IBR part of the MLV vaccine the local herd veterinarian who will target the ovaries and cause has firsthand knowledge of any some temporary inflammation. herd disease issues that may One of the symptoms often be of concern. Our primary seen when giving this vaccine recommendation has been for along with a synchronization producers to vaccinate cows in
batches. As soon as they get a group of 10 cows calved out, mix a 10 dose vial of MLV vaccine and get them vaccinated. This way cows get vaccinated in a timely manner. 2) Can I use a killed vaccine with the CIDR instead? Also, the answer is no. We have had multiple reports from producers that have had large percentages of cows not show estrus when synchronizing with killed pre-breeding vaccine. With the large investment in products and labor to synchronize, and most importantly the time lost if synchronizing fails, it is best to vaccinate at least 30 days prior to inserting CIDRS.
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