CIDR

Today we got a special shipment of CIDRs which are especially helpful at synchronizing estrus and inducing estrous cycles in cattle. We went across town to our heifer barn and sorted out nearly twenty jersey heifers. Once they were separated we ran the jerseys into the shoot one at a time to insert the CIDR and give a shot of GnRH and Jvac. In one week we will come back to the farm to remove the CIDR and give each jersey a shot of lutalyse. Two days after the CIDRs were removed we will finish off by breeding all of the jerseys that had the CIDRs and then check them in a few weeks to see if they are pregnant! CIDRs greatly increase the likelihood of catching when we breed so we have high hopes for these girls. If you look at the photograph below and get a little confused as to why there are two wooden boards, well jerseys are inherently much smaller than Holsteins and the shoot was a bit too big for them so in order to prevent the jersey from backing out of the headlock and stepping on our toes we would slide a wooden board behind their butt to stop them. 

Today we shipped 5,556 gallons of milk and had no new calves.