I was acrually going to avoid posting to this -- as it will most likely cause some contraversy -- but seeing how you asked -- here goes!
Till-Hill, by his description, would make alot of people think this is an OK process for most hfrs -- that is absolutely the WRONG thing to think. Actually, VERY few hfrs will perform and do well as virgins with ET. Some do, yes, but not the majority. Looking at your S-O procedure, you gave that hfr " 9 " shots of Fsh, starting on day 13 -- along with 2 injections of Pgf2@. That is one heck of alot for a hfr, trust me.
Your result of 3 embryos is first off -- at least partly due to the fact you started her AFTER she had already gotten the signal to start regresion of her CL (Day 13 in most mature cows, ealier for most hfrs) This would prevent peak progesterone levels and lessen if not totaly stop response in most cattle -- especially hfrs. The dosage you gave her translates to a total of 31.25 Mg's of product, which would be VERY close to a cow dose here. In other words, that was plenty -- PLENTY -- for her. If she had been started at day 10, she would have done a lot more than 3 -- so be very very carefull -- nuf said.
I try to discourage my customers from doing hfrs for the most part unless they are a fall hfr being held over for a spring calf. That would put most of them 18 to 20 months old when we do them, so they have more time to mature out.
Your biggest risk will be from damage to the Fimbria (Infumdibulum) or the funnel like membrane surrounding the ovary that actually captures the eggs as they ovulate and channels them to the ovaducts. If you over stim a cow, that membrane will have to expand as large as the ovary does during the process. If they get too big they will actually have stratch marks, and as they heal later will adhere to the ovary and then you would have no way to get the eggs from the ovary to the uterus. IVF would then be your only hope.
Is it still worth the risk ???? Also keep in mind that alot of these hfs are not going to have mature hormone levels, so may not even take care of the eggs they do ovulate.
I use day 10 or 11, I use 7 or 8 shots of Fsh, and only ONE shot of Prostoglandin, most mature cows of Angus or Shorthorn breeding get about 32-34 Mg's of product, while Simmi and breeds close to them will get less than that -- in this case More is Not better.
I will quit now, I can almost bet I just started a war of words, but one thing is for sure -- 30 years and thousands of donors have taught me many things -- and this is just one of them!
I wish you all the best of luck with your programs -- just PLEASE be carefull with these hfrs!
Terry
