Delayed insemination optimizes conception in dairy cows with natural estrus

Abstract

Dairy farmers struggle to decide when to inseminate a cow after estrus is detected, mainly because heat detection methods have changed over time and new rules apply. Although the AM-PM rule was widely used during the time of visual heat detection, with the advent of timed insemination protocols, many dairies have decided to inseminate only once every day, typically in the morning. This has led to inseminate cows as soon as they show estrus signs in fear of being too late when inseminating the following day. The objective of this study was to compare conception risk in cows inseminated at different times from the time of estrus detection via pedometers.