by Terry Lidral
Embryo Transfer for your Bucking Stock Program? Some Facts
Conventional embryo transfer (ET) has become a common form of reproductive services in the bucking stock industry. For bucking stock breeders, there are major benefits to using ET: there’s an opportunity for an increased profit margin with multiple top-quality offspring from one cow within a single breeding season; there’s an increase in genetic gain; ET can accelerate the growth of a breeding program.
The process of ET begins with a hormonal treatment to stimulate the follicles of the donor cow in order to cause multiple follicles to ovulate. Upon ovulation, artificial insemination (AI) is performed and the donor’s eggs are fertilized in the womb. For each process, 2 or 3 units of sperm are required to AI the donor. Approximately 7 days after the eggs are introduced to the sperm, the eggs are non-surgically removed, or “flushed,” from the donor cow’s uterus. Fresh eggs can be placed immediately into the receipt cow or they can be frozen for later implantation.
An embryo flush on average produces 5 to 6 embryos per collection. There is a slightly higher pregnancy rate with embryo transfer from 6 to 7 percent higher implanting a fresh embryo to a 10 percent advantage implanting a frozen embryo. About 75 to 90 percent of the donor cows respond positively to the superovulation treatment. The rate of cows unable to produce transferable quality embryos is between 20 and 30 percent. It is suggested by some experts that a donor be flushed 2 to 3 times to assess the quality of embryos that she produces in order to determine her worth as a donor cow.
The embryo transfer process is a medical procedure and involves a monetary outgo. An estimate from a reputable service was $1100, including the freezing of the embryos. People with long-term experience in the bucking stock industry advise against using a donor cow to build or sell your program unless the cow has a proven record of quality offspring. It is more difficult to sell an embryo from an unknown product; the cost of the procedure comes out of your pocket if you don’t sell the embryos, and storage or implantation of embryos that will not genetically drive your program is a cost without return.
The number of times a cow can be flushed with good embryo production varies from one cow to the next. Some cows will produce for 8 to 9 processes. Some will only be good for 3 to 4, and some will never produce well. The length between embryo collections in the donor cow can be as little as 7 to 8 weeks, according to veterinary medicine professionals.
Embryo collection and transfer is a well-established system within the bucking stock industry. A proven producing cow can be well used for profit margin and/or genetic infusion into a breeding program with the potential for multiple calves from your “money” cow in one breeding season. If the goal of ET is to sell the embryos collected, researching the sales potential and price range of the genetics you are trying to sell can help with the decision as to whether it is worth the time, money and effort you will have to spend.
Author: Terry Lidral
Terry Lidral is a western writer/journalist who lives in Idaho. She is the publisher and editor of the online magazine Bucking Stock Talk and the online magazine Western Living Journal. Her publishing credits include Storyteller for Real American Cowboy Magazine, writing feature articles for Humps N Horns Magazine as well as a wide variety of national and international web sites, historical magazines and news publications. She is known for her "up close and personal" profiles of celebrities and industry moguls such as NPR's Tom Bodett; PBR's Wiley Petersen and D.H. Page, PRCA's Sammy Andrews, Cindy Rosser and Julio Moreno to name a few. She has been applauded for her way of making a personal connection between her readers and her subjects. She indulges in her love of rodeo by serving as an associate board member for the Caldwell Night Rodeo. She is also an accomplished trainer and handler in dog agility. Her shelties Amelie and Milo are titled in NADAC, USDAA and AKC.
