You are asking some verygood questions on this topic -- I have seen all the good bad and ugly over the years.
First, if a donor is done correctly and not blowed out and pushed every 35 days like some do -- they will breed back OK. If, however, they are overdosed and made to work every 6 weeks (Alot of them are), then you will have the protential to have alot of scar tissue, possibly systic ovaries too if given an inducement on flush day.
Look at the cows tail head when you see her, if she is all swelled up and sometimes sunken in around the tail, or really carrying alot of fat there, then they have been done alot. The more you give them, the worse it gets.
The simple fact that they were flushed does not mean they can't or won't calve again. Some times you will have more problems getting one out of them if left open for years, but that would be just good cow management on your end there.
Fat covers up alot of the obvious issies in any cow or calf. As mentioned before, there are tons of cows being flushed today that had one good one, and should never be flushed or at least waited on to leter in life to make sure she is donor quality. If the pedigreeis right, and she has consistently good calves herself, that is a good risk.
We have done some cows here that I wonder why they are being done, some wouldn't even make a good recip. Others are for sure stem winder good ones, and go right back to the herd and continue on for years to come. Pedigree alone or the one loner good calf is not the makings of a donor to me, but I am just a Cowboy --hehehehe!
Good luck with your selections, but one thing I will say here is that I myself tend to stay away from cows that look like steers with tits!
Terry
