Opinions on flushing a 20 year old cow

[TempletonCattle]

I have a 20 year old charolais cow I would like to flush and just wanted to know if anyone else has had problems with flushing a cow this age and how it could affect her. thanks

 

[caledon101]

Wow.  20 years old huh?
Fertility doesn't improve with age; it's a diminishing asset. Good luck..... and I wouldn't be buying any green bananas for her if I were you.

 

[TempletonCattle]

She still has a regular 21 day cycle and is in pretty good condition.

 

[dn91]

If she has proven herself to you through her previous calves, I would give it a try. If she still cycles regularly you could still get a somewhat decent flush out of her, sometimes with those old cows you never know when they're going to start going down hill so if you want to flush her I wouldn't wait any longer.

 

[TempletonCattle]

Thats why I want to. She is probably the best cow we have ever raised and has produced many great show cattle. I have just heard bad things about flushing one at that age. thank you! this is a picture of her

 

[caledon101]

You risk investing some money in the flush costs but that's not a huge consideration?
I hope you come back and report a successful project! There are very few cows who hang around for 20 years and still work! She must be a super sound individual; the right kind to keep daughters from!

 

[mark tenenbaum]

Great looking cow-even if the pics are 12 years old-Id try IVF

 

[Idahoboy]

I would definitely try IVF if you want to do any flushing. We just recently did this with a 14 year old Sir Duke 914 cow and she produced 38 oocytes, which should translate into about 13 or so embryos. This would most likely be your best chance at getting a good flush out of a cow that old.

 

[TempletonCattle]

Great looking cow-even if the pics are 12 years old-Id try IVF

haha I'm sure she would appreciate the compliment, but these pics are only a year old

 

[BTDT]

I sent you a message.

 

[mark tenenbaum]

Great looking cow-even if the pics are 12 years old-Id try IVF

haha I'm sure she would appreciate the compliment, but these pics are only a year old//// THAN SHES A NATIONAL TREASURE-SEND HER TO DR GARRETT STEWART CO MIDCONTINENT FARMS WASHINGTON KANSAS-COWS LIKE THAT ARE 1 IN A MILLION-AND IT WOULD BE ABSOLUTELY STUPID NOT TO PRESERVE THOSE GENETICS O0

 

[justintime]

I have flushed enough cows to now know that there are never any guarantees on any flush. I just flushed a 16 year old cow that has probably been flushed in excess of 20 times in her lifetime and she pumped out 17 good embryos. This is almost twice what she has averaged in her lifetime. I am presently setting her up for another flush and if it is successful I may do another. Like your cow she is still in good health and cycles normally.
IMO, it is not a huge gamble if the flush is not successful. If it is a success, it will be well worth it. If it isn't a success, well, she probably doesn't owe you anything.

 

[mark tenenbaum]

I have flushed enough cows to now know that there are never any guarantees on any flush. I just flushed a 16 year old cow that has probably been flushed in excess of 20 times in her lifetime and she pumped out 17 good embryos. This is almost twice what she has averaged in her lifetime. I am presently setting her up for another flush and if it is successful I may do another. Like your cow she is still in good health and cycles normally.
IMO, it is not a huge gamble if the flush is not successful. If it is a success, it will be well worth it. If it isn't a success, well, she probably doesn't owe you anything./// Well put-Id be doing IVF as long as she was around-who knows-maybe to the age of 30 from the looks of her O0

 

[BLRanch]

I'd have to agree that she sounds like a good candidate for IVF.

 

[TempletonCattle]

Thanks so much for all the helpful advice!

 

[Diamond]

I flushed a 20 year old cow last year and we ended up with 21 embryos. 18 where freezable and the other three had to go in, but two of the three took.

 

[Mark H]

Whaty is the pedigree on this cow?  Has she ever skpped  havinga calf for a year?  What are tyour brreding goals?  Areas for improvement?

 

[ploughshare]

You have not mentioned your location.  If you are serious, I would contact Dave Faber or Mark Johnson at TransOva in Sioux Center (no other Transova location) to discuss the cow.  20 years or so I when I visited the original location Mark was telling me how they harvested the ovaries from Power Plant's deceased dam for oocyte harvesting. Now this was long before the days of IVF and such and I am sure they have come a long ways since then.  BTW, they do not do my ET work, but if I had your cow they would.