Timed artificial insemination in blocks: A new alternative to improve fertility in lactating beef cows

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether changing the interval from CIDR removal to timed artificial insemination (TAI) according to the diameter of the preovulatory follicle (POF) would improve pregnancy per AI in cows. In Study 1, a retrospective analysis of TAI experiments (n = 96 cows) was performed to characterize the time of ovulation according to the diameter of the dominant follicle. It was observed that cows with a larger POF had ovulations earlier than cows with smaller POF, according to the equation: y = 0.72x2 − 26.74x + 264.54 (R2 = 0.63; P < 0.001). In Study 2, lactating Nelore cows (n = 412) were subjected to an EB-CIDR based TAI protocol. On the morning of Day 10 (time of TAI), cows were randomized into Control (n = 209) and Block (n = 203) groups; (1) Cows in the Control Group were TAI 48 h after CIDR removal (08:00 am on Day 10), and; (2) Cows in the block group were inseminated once at one of the following time points, according to the diameter of the POF on Day 10: B0 (POF ≥ 15 mm, TAI 0 h after convetional TAI), B1 (POF 13-14.9 mm, TAI 6 h later), B2 (POF 10.1-12.9 mm, TAI 24 h later) and B3 (POF ≤ 10 mm, TAI 30 h later). The cows of the Block Group had greater pregnancy rates per AI than the Control Group (129/203, 63.5% when compared with 102/209, 48.8%, respectively; P < 0.01). In conclusion, results of the present study demonstrate that adjusting the timing of TAI according to the diameter of the POF can be an effective practice for improving fertility of cows in TAI protocols.