Artificial Insemination in Cattle

Artificial insemination (AI) is a popular, simple and inexpensive treatment of infertility in animals, in which the sperm from the male is collected and introduced artificially into the reproductive tract of the female for conception. It was in 1780 that the first scientific research in AI of domestic animals, was carried out on dogs. Lazanno Spalbanzani, an Italian scientist, conducted experiments that proved the power of fertilization vested with the spermatozoa and not with the liquid portion of the semen. These studies spearheaded the commercial utilization of this technique for breeding across the globe. Today, AI has emerged as one of the best techniques devised for genetic melioration of farm animals. This is a remarkable method of breeding quality cattle in the most natural way possible. AI is being carried out in a large number of buffaloes and cows and is extremely useful in countries like India, wherein quality sires have been scarce. Artificial insemination in cattle has taken care of this major obstacle in the path of cattle improvement. More

Cattle Identification Systems

Livestock identification is a necessity for any farmer with more than just a family cow. There are many reasons you need to track your cattle, goats, chickens, or whatever your livestock is. Maintaining a numbering system can help you prevent the spread of diseases and genetic deformations, keep track of the age of your herd, and and monitor production. Many new farmers don't think about this soon enough when building their herd. It doesn't become an issue until it is nearly too late.

If you're a new farmer beginning to build up your livestock, or even an old hand who is looking for some fresh ideas, here are some numbering system ideas. More.

An Update on Paiwi or Paalaga System

For the last 8 years as practiced we are on a paiwi or a paalaga system for backyard cattle raising. As we understand the advantages we think in having this kind of setup is that we don’t extend that much effort in taking care of the cattle at the same time we’re helping small time farmers to have the opportunity of having their own cattle and the option of an additional income for them since the farmer’s share can always be convertible into cash with an agreement with the cattle owner.




But recently we saw a disadvantage in this kind of method. We encountered a situation in which the care taker sold the cow without the owner’s consent and knowing. The owner have only known about what had happened after 3 days in which the caretaker disappeared with the cash in hand and bound never to return back.

In this kind of scenario this is what has been learned.
1. Get to know the person in which the owner will in-trust the cow
2. Make sure that the cattle is marked so that it can’t be sold right away since it bears the mark of the owner and for identification purposes as well.
3. The cattle owner or in-trusted person of the owner should visit the cow on regular basis.
4. Another option would be to implement latest technology for cattle identification. This is a good option but requires investment for implementation