How much would you pay/charge for a "driveway" breeding

[miss_thenorth]

Ok, I posted this on BYH a few hours ago (I know, patience and all but..... I think I may have found a boyfriend for Annabelle my heifer. Since I don;'t know when she is due to be in heat--I am assuming any day now and I want her bred hopefully this month, she would have to spend a few days if not more at the bulls home. She is pastured and does not eat any grain, and as long as there is amineral block around, sho should be fine.

How much would you pay to have her bred?

 

[freemotion]

What would a calf from her go for in your area? Say a bottle bull calf. Less than that. Or a bit more if heifers go for a lot more and if the offspring is registrable.

A driveway goat breeding here (if you can find it) is about $100. I can sell my grade bottle boys for $50 and two kids is the norm.

I know nothing about cows but thought I'd give you something to ponder if no one else answers.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Do you happen to have any breeding services near you? Like here in the states we have Select Sires and Genex and such. If there are any dairy farms near you, I'd ask them who they use to AI their cows. You can have the AI man (or woman) come to your farm and breed her, which will save you from having to take her anywhere. Plus, you can pick from really nice genetics that you may not be able to get from a local bull.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Do you happen to have any breeding services near you? Like here in the states we have Select Sires and Genex and such. If there are any dairy farms near you, I'd ask them who they use to AI their cows. You can have the AI man (or woman) come to your farm and breed her, which will save you from having to take her anywhere. Plus, you can pick from really nice genetics that you may not be able to get from a local bull.

That is sa good idea, but I really have no clue as to where to even start looking for that. We don't have county extension offices like you do there. And there is a dairy farm about 10 minutes from here. and lots of beef farms. But considering she is a dexter heifer, I would need a small breed bull. How much would AI run? And how can I tell she is in heat? I mean, last month, but I can't pinpoint a time, she was humping my horse as he was lying down in the pasture. So I knew she was in heat then. From what I have read, they cycle every 18-24 days, but the window for breeding is 18-24 hours, yes?

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Cows come into heat about every 21 days. Humping your horse is a good way to tell she's in heat. They also can be more vocal and "in your face" when in heat. AI is best done 12 hours after standing heat...which means if she would stand and let another cow ride her, she'd be AI'd 12 hours after that. It may be hard to tell when she's "standing" if there's nothing to ride her. Heck, if she's small enough you could do it...just see if she'll let you lay over her tail head. I'm not sure how much AI would cost you up there, but you could always go talk to the dairy farmer or even maybe the beef farmer and ask them if they know of any AI techs in the area.

 

[R2D2]

I can't tell you what to expect to pay, but i sure got a good laugh out of your cow trying to hump the horse...!!

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I can't tell you what to expect to pay, but i sure got a good laugh out of your cow trying to hump the horse...!!

Yeah, that was a good mental picture. I wonder what the horse thought? Someone once told me they only had a single cow, but they knew she was in heat when she would mount the propane tank!

 

[animalfarm]

Eastern Breeders are the AI guys in Ontario. Call them up and they can educate you. They will have semen from something you can use/want. I am told it is quite reasonably priced. I will find out next month when I go that route for my jerseys. Also, try an add in something like Eastern Ontario Agrinews. (on line).

 

[PamsPride]

I vote for AI for a cow too! I THOUGHT the guy down the road said he paid $30 for each of his. A regular company comes around and does it here.

But for my goat I paid $50 for two does, driveway service. I heard the going rate is $35 each for a half an hour though.