Week 2
Just as a reminder, I am studying how to flush and implant an embryo in cattle. My goal this week was to determine how donor and recipient cows are chosen for this process. I found it easiest to focus on each separately because different characteristics are needed. The most difficult thing I faced this week was procrastination. As many of you know, I am very good at procrastinating pretty much everything, but I'm hoping this project will help me with that.
As for my progress, I started the week by determining what kind of qualities a donor cow would need to posses. The biggest thing I found is that they need to exemplify the characteristics you want in your herd. There are a ton of different things different producers are looking for to improve their operation, and these are just a few examples. If a dairy was looking to improve their milk production, then they would choose donors that are very good milkers. If someone was looking to breed elite show calves, then they would take into consideration the show appeal and conformation of the cow. After the producer chooses which qualities they are looking for, there are a few other things to take into consideration. The donor should be reproductively sound (normal reproduction tract and postpartum history), at least 60 days postpartum, and have normal estrous cycles (17-21 days). They should have no history of pregnancy difficulties, no known genetic defects, and have an appropriate body condition score (amount of body fat and muscling ranging from 1- thin to 9-obese) of about 5.
The recipient cow is a little easier to choose because she does not need to have the perfect traits you want present in your herd. However, there are still a few things you want to consider to ensure you have good results. The first thing you need is a good mother. A good choice would be cow that has strong maternal instincts and has the ability to provide enough milk for the calf. In addition, they should also also be reproductively sound and have a body condition score of about 5.
The next step in this process is superovulation of the donor cow. Next week I will be looking into what this entails, so I hope you all stay tuned!
As for my progress, I started the week by determining what kind of qualities a donor cow would need to posses. The biggest thing I found is that they need to exemplify the characteristics you want in your herd. There are a ton of different things different producers are looking for to improve their operation, and these are just a few examples. If a dairy was looking to improve their milk production, then they would choose donors that are very good milkers. If someone was looking to breed elite show calves, then they would take into consideration the show appeal and conformation of the cow. After the producer chooses which qualities they are looking for, there are a few other things to take into consideration. The donor should be reproductively sound (normal reproduction tract and postpartum history), at least 60 days postpartum, and have normal estrous cycles (17-21 days). They should have no history of pregnancy difficulties, no known genetic defects, and have an appropriate body condition score (amount of body fat and muscling ranging from 1- thin to 9-obese) of about 5.
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| Good example of donor |
The recipient cow is a little easier to choose because she does not need to have the perfect traits you want present in your herd. However, there are still a few things you want to consider to ensure you have good results. The first thing you need is a good mother. A good choice would be cow that has strong maternal instincts and has the ability to provide enough milk for the calf. In addition, they should also also be reproductively sound and have a body condition score of about 5.
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| Poor example of donor |
The next step in this process is superovulation of the donor cow. Next week I will be looking into what this entails, so I hope you all stay tuned!
I love your topic choice and your love of cows, Brooke. As a person who AIs, I'm very interested in this also. I've considered flushing some of my cows before, so now I know who the expert is if I have any questions!
ReplyDeleteI am very interested in this topic also can't wait to see what you find out and I feel like this is a good topic for you. I remember you saying during your Shark Tank presentation that you might go and meet up and talk to a professional about implanting an embryo in cattle. So my question for you is are you still wanting to meet up with an expert, if so do you have a time or date set up?
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