Early pregnancy testing
A compact calving is the outcome of a compact mating and retained pregnancies. Early pregnancy testing (PT) is the most accurate way to determine which cows are pregnant and when they conceived, and involves testing groups of cows during and after the end of mating. The strategy eliminates the need for heat detection after the AB period.
The 6-week in calf rate (ICR) is the best indicator of herd reproductive performance, with a target of 78% plus. Early PT allows key mating performance indicators to be evaluated and actions taken while mating is still happening.
How does early PT help?
- Detect cows mated early but not returning to heat (conceive to AI but the embryo dies). This can account for 15-20% of non-returning cows. Allows intervention and re-breeding of these cows within the mating period
- Conception rate and 3-week ICR are known early and assist in deciding your total mating length
- Identifies AB calves from terminal calves
- Measures early pregnancy losses. Target 16-20% at 16-20 weeks after MSD. If higher than 2% a reason for abortion (e. g. BVD) should be investigated.
- Make culling decisions when feed gets tight or cows start to dry off
- Dry off cows in time to build condition before calving
When to do early PT?
- Test all cows 12-14 weeks after MSD
- Re-test all cows not confirmed pregnant 8 - 9 weeks after the first test. Also re-test suspect abortions
- If the second test is less than 6 weeks after the end of mating, then re-test cows that have not been confirmed pregnant 6 - 8 weeks after the end of mating. Also re-test suspect abortions
- To detect pregnancy losses between tests, all cows need to be tested twice
Discuss a pregnancy testing strategy that suits your farm with Totally Vets.
