AI or Natural Service: Which is more suitable for your cows?
For farmers and those who care for cows, deciding how to breed them is a big deal. There are two main ways: Artificial Insemination (AI) and Natural Service (NS). This blog post will help you understand both methods. We will look at the good and bad of each, so that you can decide what’s best for your farm.
Natural Service (NS): This method has been around for ages. Farmers keep a bull with their cows. When a cow is in heat (ready to breed), the bull mates with her. This is a simple and natural process.
Artificial Insemination (AI): This is a scientific technique and a bit complex than the former one. The first AI in cattle was performed in the early 1900s in Russia and Denmark. However, large-scale experiments with AI in cattle breeding were conducted in Russia around 1907. The bull’s sperm is collected and frozen in liquid nitrogen chambers where the temperature is extremely low at (-196°C). This keeps the sperm good for a long time. When a cow is in heat, the Veterinary Doctor thaws the sperm and then pours these cryogenic sperms in her using special tools, which facilitates fertilization.
PRO's & CON's Of AI & Natural
Natural Service: Pros
Easy to Spot Heat: The bull knows when a cow is in heat. Bull can identify the signs better
than humans.
Natural: It is the way nature intended it to be.
Natural Service: Cons
Disease Risk: If the bull has a disease or genetic disorder, he can spread it to all the cows and calves so produced also might carry that disease/disorder if it’s a Dominant one.
Fewer Calves: A bull can only breed so many cows during a lifespan.
Hard to Improve Breed: It is harder to choose which traits you want in your calves also it can lead to major problems regarding INBREEDING.
Artificial Insemination: Pros
More Choices: You can pick sperm from the best available bulls all over the world. This helps you improve your cows.
Less Disease Risk: Sperm is tested for diseases in Laboratory. More Calves: One bull can create so many calves through AI.
Improves Breed Faster: You can choose the best traits for your calves and helps in improvement of both Genotype & Phenotype in just 3-4 breeding cycles. We can put a halt to problems associated with INBREEDING once and for all.
Artificial Insemination: Cons
More Work: You have to watch for signs of heat. You have to store the sperm.
Costly: You need special tools and training as well has initial setup cost is high.
Can Miss Heat: If you miss the signs of heat, you have to wait for next cycle.
Experts Opinion
Both AI and NS have their own pros & cons. The best choice depends on your farm & requirements. But as an expert we can suggest that if one has fewer cows they can get the best available bull from breed improvement farms based upon their genotype & phenotype that will suffice the needs of small herd time to time. On the other hand, if anyone has a big farm they can manage it properly via artificial insemination or if they can uphold the cost they can keep number of Bulls for their respective cows. Approximately 1 Bull shall keep up for 25/30 Cows so accordingly one can setup. Otherwise as stated earlier if it’s not feasible AI would make more sense, farmer has both choices to opt from.
Don't Forget these Important Deal Breakers
Natural Service: Choose healthy bulls with good traits.
Artificial Insemination: Use good quality sperm. Watch for signs of heat.
Talk to an Expert: A vet or breeding expert can help you decide.
Conclusion
AI and NS are both good ways to breed cows. AI lets you choose the best traits and avoid disease. NS is more natural and less work. Think about your farm and your goals. Then, choose the method that is best suited as per your requirements.