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Are you using automatic pregnancy registration?

Jet Huijser

In Australia, there are quite some grazing farms using the "automatic pregnancy registration" in Horizon to manage pregnancy checks in the herd. This feature reduces the need for manual checks by the vet, reduces data entry and keeps reproduction numbers up to date, because it automatically changes the reproduction status of a cow from "inseminated" to "pregnant". In Horizon (Manage > Reproduction > Lactation) you can select how you want to use automatic pregnancy registration:

  • At day – This option marks the cow as pregnant after x days after insemination (you can customize the nr of days after insemination). This setting only focuses on days and ignores any heat behaviours, for example when a cow shows heat behaviour, she will still be marked as pregnant after x days, unless there is a new insemination entered.
  • Absence of heat – This setting marks animals as ‘auto pregnant?’ at day 42, and as ‘auto pregnant’ at day 48. It does take into account activity data, as well as manually entered heat and inseminations. Meaning, if a cow performs heat behaviour (e.g. 8 hours above the threshold) her reproduction status will not change status to ‘auto pregnant.’ 

Tip: check out the report "animal event overview" and filter on reproduction events for a list of cows with "auto pregnant" status. 

What are your experiences with automatic pregnancy confirmation? How do you use this feature on your farm? 

  • 0

    Yes we use Auto pregnancy for majority of our herd. Only manually pregnancy check cows that have had abnormal heats or irregular heats. Out of 750 cows only need to manually check 100 of them. 

  • 0

    We’ve been using the automatic pregnancy registration in Horizon for about a year now and it’s been a big help. I run a grazing herd, so having fewer yard sessions for vet checks saves time and keeps the flow in the paddocks.

    I set mine to ‘absence of heat’ rather than just ‘at day,’ because I like that it uses activity data as well as days since AI. That way if a cow shows heat again, she doesn’t get marked as pregnant by mistake. I still do manual preg-tests at key times, but this narrows the list right down for the vet.

    I also keep an eye on the ‘animal event overview’ report every couple of weeks to check auto-pregnant cows and make sure the data matches what I see in the paddock. For us it’s reduced data entry, cut down unnecessary handling, and kept repro numbers up to date without me chasing paperwork.

  • +1

    Yes, we’ve been using automatic pregnancy registration here in Uruguay for the past year. I’ve got it set to ‘absence of heat’ because it uses the activity data and avoids marking a cow pregnant if she’s actually cycling again.

    Before, the vet had to check every inseminated cow, which took hours. Now we only check the ones Horizon doesn’t confirm. It’s cut down yard time, kept our repro numbers accurate, and I spend less time punching data into the system. For me, it’s been a real time saver without losing accuracy.

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