donor question

[spencer f.]

looking at buying a donor cow. last flush she had 28 unfertilized eggs and 0 fertilized. should i be worried about the cow? and what could have caused this to happen? have very little info on flush so i can't answer any more questions about her. any thoughts are welcome

    thanks

        spencer f.

 

[3dfarms]

Could be a number of things I guess, but my first thought would be the AI was not well timed with the heat cycle.  This could keep any sperm from reaching the eggs, therefore giving you all the unfertilized eggs. 

Hopefully others will weigh in here as well.  If she averages 28 fertilized eggs per flush, she will be a worthwhile investment if she is a good cow and you choose the right matings....and the price is right.

Good luck.

 

[jackpotcattle]

Could be because she was over stimulated. Have had cows do this before. Our guy normally starts them out on a low dose to see how they respond. Will bump them up on dosage as needed, every once in awhile one will over stimulate when he bumps them up on dosage.

 

[Cowboy]

As both of the above have touched on, MOST of the time in these cases it is one of two things -- Semen Quality, and more importantly some times is TIMING.

For many years now I have only bred these donors one time and one time only. But it is the right time, not when it is close to quitting time or anything else, it is when the cow is ready. I am very patient too -- you will notice me posting some times at 3 in the morning -- not because I can't sleep -- hehehe!

It will be very hard ot tell you what to think on this with such little info, but 28 does seem like a larger than normal number, we don't try for near that many, and use a very small dose the first time out. Some cows are just very sensitive too -- even with a small dose, we have gotten well over 20 at times.

It also depends on the breeding. Simmi, Gelbvieh, Braunvieh and alot of the Maine blood lines will be more sensitive to the drugs, so back them off more than most Angus cows take to work. Just a hundred things to think about I guess.

If she is still OK in there, back her down and try again but use known GOOD semen andgive her time to get done with her heat -- lots of time!


Terry

 

[angus88]

I am curious as to how many times this cow has been flushed, but there are a lot of factors for why this cow didn't have any fertilized eggs.  If you could find out more information that would be helpful.  But I guess you need to weigh your options on price and the return you can get.  I will say, some cows can end up with infections and the semen then will not settle the eggs, so a simple infusion helps and I do agree to be patient.  I know I wasn't much help, just giving my 2 cents.  Good luck!