Before the cow goes in heat, everything around the cow must be in good balance. The feed, the minerals, air and of course light. To achieve this there are several demands to the stable where the cow lives:

* The fudder must be accesible for all cows, so enough feeding places with the same amount of fodder (to keep them in a good condition, see also "Food supply")

* Good quality feed with a good mineral balance. (see also "Diet")

* Ventilation abilities to provide fresh air.

* Light:  16 hours light, 8 hours dark. The light must have an intensity from 150 to 200 lux.

All these things are important for a regular cyclus.

When the balance is not good, the cow shows only weakly that she is in heat. Its also possible that the cow even don´t get into heat.

There can be problems with slippy floors or bad claws. The cow can´t show that she is in heat very well (Jumping).

All these points cause problems with heat control. A problem that occurs when you miss one or more times a cow is in heat, the calving interval gets longer. This makes your cows less profitable.

The best time for inseminating is 12 hours after the beginning of standing heat. If you get the timing right there are more problems during inseminating. The sperm in a “straw”is very vulnerable, be careful with handling and defrosting the straw. Another risk is putting dirt in the cervix that can infect the uterus.

Make sure the cow is tied up or in the feeding fence. This way it is easier to approach the cow.

When the cow is inseminated successfully, there is always a chance that the cow abort the foetus. This can be caused by many things like bad feed or wrong hormones.

Solutions

For good heat control, watch the cows at a quiet moment,  3 times a day. 15 Minutes is long enough. With good heat controll the calving interval can also go down.

Slippery floors can be fixed by making a rough surface. (link to F&WS)

For the right insemination time you really have to pay attention to your cows, know the right symptoms and of course experience is a big help. 

Always make sure your insemination tools are clean to avoid dirt in the uterus.

When there are several cows aborting their foetus, it might be wise to do a blood test. The cows can carry diseases that need further examination.

We did not find a solution for every problem, some problems are so complex we cannot explain them in this website.