One Dose To Tighten The Calving Window, Merck Says

Good news for cattle producers who want to tighten their calving window and get more dollars at sale time.  New data shows the value of a more uniform calf crop, and there’s a solution that doesn’t require an extra trip through the chute.  Dr. Jacques Fuselier, cattle technical services veterinarian with Merck Animal Health, said using prostaglandin at bull turnout will have a noticeable impact on your herd.

“So, using prostaglandin like ESTRUMATE (cloprostenol injection) at the time of bull turnout is a good way to synchronize the cow herd to get more cows bred earlier in the breeding season," Fuselier said.  "Therefore, you have more calves born earlier in the calving season. There's a lot of research that shows calves born earlier in the calving season bring more money. If you have more of a uniform herd, a group of calves to sell, it brings more money. The biggest benefit is going to be getting cows bred earlier and calves born earlier in the calving season, so that you have a more profitable group of calves at the end.”

Not Only Can You Tighten Up The Window, But Shorten The Breeding Season

Fuselier has a host of recommendation for producers looking for tighter calving windows.

“The best thing to do, like we'd said, is to get cows bred earlier in that breeding season. And there are several different synchronization programs out there," Fuselier said.  "We found studies out of Nebraska that show that if you just give a simple prostaglandin, such as ESTRUMATE, five days after bull turnout, you'll increase the number of cows bred in the first 21 days of that breeding season. That helps to tighten up the calving window. It also allows you to shorten the breeding season, because more cows are bred at the beginning of the breeding season, so it takes less time for the whole herd to get bred.”

Benefits To The Cows And Bulls

Fuselier added there are multiple benefits to heat synchronizing cow herds.

“You'll end up with more calves born in that first 21-day period, and that's a really important point, because those calves are going to be heavier," he said.  "There's also evidence that shows heifers born in the first 21 days of the calving season have more stayability in the herd. It also, in a way, puts a little less demand on the bull battery, because they don't have to stay out as long, because it's a shortened breeding season. It allows you to take a little bit of pressure off the bull battery, consolidate labor, more stayability in the herd, and more profitability from the calves.”

Better For Your Pocketbook

Fuselier continued that Heat synchronizing offers multiple economic benefits.

"So having more calves born earlier in that calving season helps give those calves heavier weights at sale time, and it also increases the value you're able to add per head," he said.  "The studies that we've been involved with show about a $25 per head advantage to have a uniform calf crop. Synchronizing these cows can have a substantial impact on time management, and when cows calve in a shorter interval, it allows you to consolidate labor, so it helps balance the workload. Helps make it easier to monitor cows for issues or calving difficulties. It's a more predictable and concentrated calving window, so you can manage labor forces more efficiently, and potentially lower labor costs.”

To learn more about synchronizing cows and using ESTRUMATE, visit Merck Animal Health's Website.

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