Increasing reproduction rates is a goal for all cattle producers. More pounds weaned starts with getting cows and heifers bred, and better yet, during the first breeding cycle.
Kansas State University Animal Sciences and Industry Professor Sandy Johnson and Assistant Professor Nicholas Wege Dias specialize in beef cattle reproduction and have been involved in several projects designed to improve cattle fertility. The two recently collaborated with K-State’s Technology Development Institute (TDI) to develop a product that reduces animal stress and could be the key to increasing artificial insemination (AI) rates in cattle.
The idea for the brush was to expand upon the results of a project Dias, Johnson and their students recently conducted that found acclimating animals to their surroundings prior to the AI process reduced animal stress and increased reproduction rates.
Acclimation Can Increase Repro Rates by 10%
Dias says the acclimation study included running heifers through the handling facilities without restraining them in the chute immediately before the handling events of the estrus synchronization protocol — CIDR in, CIDR out and timed AI.
“The idea was to get heifers acquainted with the handling facilities, with hopes to decrease stress and thus improve conception rates to the protocol,” Dias explains. “We did in fact see about 10% more pregnancies by adopting this strategy.”
Why a Brush
“Once we saw the benefits of getting animals acquainted with the facilities on AI success, we began to think about adoptable strategies to promote positive reinforcement during handling,” Dias says. “You often see cow brushes and how the animals enjoy rubbing against them on social media, so we thought, ‘Let’s come up with a way to place a cow brush in the alleyway so the animals can enjoy themselves while they wait their turn.’”
Their goal was to position a brush in the center of the alley just below bovine head height so the animals could rub their backs with the brush to reduce stress.
While Dias and Johnson had an idea of what they wanted, they needed help to design and fabricate a device that could be installed on any type or size of chute and that was able to withstand the force generated by the animals. The two researchers contacted TDI to discuss the idea and determine if the institute could help develop a prototype product for testing.
TDI engineers and interns began working on various designs that could easily be installed on chutes made of wood, pipe or any number of materials. The device had to be adjustable in height due to differences in wall and animal heights, and it also needed to be able to adjust to sloped alley walls. TDI developed various concept designs and, with feedback from Dias and Johnson, finalized the design.
The team then fabricated two prototype devices that are currently being used by Dias and his students to determine the effectiveness of having such devices included during the AI process.
“We always enjoy working with industry experts who can clearly define their needs,” says Bret Lanz, TDI commercialization director. “This simplifies our job to create a product specification and design a new product that meets the needs of our customers. Nicholas and his team have been great to work with, and we are hopeful that this new tool will help to aid in their studies and perhaps have a large impact on the cattle industry.”
Dias says they do not have results to share from using the brush at this time, as the first group of heifers for this study were processed in early June and then a set of cows later in June.
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