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FOCUS ON FERT I L I TY
B RYONY K ENDA L L
Monthly visits enable us to spot problem cows a lot
sooner. Thanks to this regular focus on fertility, over
the past year, the number of cows served within
100 days has increased...
Tim Mayo
But that's all changed now. Eighteen months
ago, on one of the occasions that Tim's vet
Bryony Kendall of Tyndale Vet Practice was
on farm, she suggested monthly visits just for
the winter to help Tim reduce his 417 day
calving interval.
Bryony explains: ‘Monthly visits enable us to
spot problem cows a lot sooner. As it's a
relatively small herd, I'll PD the cows served,
and then check over those not served within
100 days and discuss these with Tim. We've
used prostaglandin synchronisation to get
some back on track. I also check fresh
calvers and those that had difficult calvings.’
Thanks to this regular focus on fertility, over
the past year, the number of cows served
within 100 days of calving has increased
from 66% to 81%, and the number in-calf at
100 days has risen from 25% to 37%. This
has reduced the calving interval by 29 days,
and increased annual milk yield from 6,700
to 7,140 litres/cow/year, with butterfat
holding well at 4.2%, and protein at 3.28%.
Bryony adds: ‘The reduction in calving
interval is worth £9,000/year, or
£120/cow/year, plus Tim has increased
his milk sales.’
AUTUMN 2011 ISSUE
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
4
Scanning cows
Reviewing farm data