embryo transfer

[Anonymous]

can you use a host cow from a breed different from the embryo/straw? I started with Herefords and am moving to registered Angus. At this point I only have 3 Angus cows/heifers and would like to improve the genetics of my herd a little faster than these 3 will provide. Can I use the Hereford cows to accomplish this?

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[Anonymous]

No problems with that. The important thing is that the recip. have a good reproductive system. Some breeds are considered to be better recips. then others because of (supposed) better/larger placental growth. With what top grade embryos cost and the cost of having them implanted you want to make sure that it has the best chance possible to attach itself in the best environment possible

dunmovin farms

> can you use a host cow from a
> breed different from the
> embryo/straw? I started with
> Herefords and am moving to
> registered Angus. At this point I
> only have 3 Angus cows/heifers and
> would like to improve the genetics
> of my herd a little faster than
> these 3 will provide. Can I use
> the Hereford cows to accomplish
> this?

 

[Anonymous]

"Dunmovin" is right. The breed of the recip doesn't matter, the embryo is genetically set at conception. But give some thought about time before you get into this. I see well bred performance Angus heifers sell for $1000-1800, depending on breeding status. It will be about three years before that embryo can get a calf on the ground. Your time is worth something. Good luck...

> can you use a host cow from a
> breed different from the
> embryo/straw? I started with
> Herefords and am moving to
> registered Angus. At this point I
> only have 3 Angus cows/heifers and
> would like to improve the genetics
> of my herd a little faster than
> these 3 will provide. Can I use
> the Hereford cows to accomplish
> this?

[email protected]

 

[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

Frankie, Thanks, but I'm not sure I understand your comment about it taking 3 years to have an embryo calf on the ground. My strategy is to continue to AI my existing 3 Angus while possibly doing transplants in my existing Herefords. The herefords are pregnant currently so I would not see an embryo calf from them until spring '03. At that time the genetics of those calves s/b superior to what I get AI'ing my existing Angus. With that strategy I can get my embryo calves w/o trading up to a more expensive host cow. Am I missing something in your comment?

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[Anonymous]

I think I know what he meant but I'll let him clarify it. Just a thought, have you considered selling your angus cows and buying some very high quality cows and breeding them yourself? That's what we ended up doing with or Red angus herd. Like I said, just a thought

dunmovin farms

> Frankie, Thanks, but I'm not sure
> I understand your comment about it
> taking 3 years to have an embryo
> calf on the ground. My strategy is
> to continue to AI my existing 3
> Angus while possibly doing
> transplants in my existing
> Herefords. The herefords are
> pregnant currently so I would not
> see an embryo calf from them until
> spring '03. At that time the
> genetics of those calves s/b
> superior to what I get AI'ing my
> existing Angus. With that strategy
> I can get my embryo calves w/o
> trading up to a more expensive
> host cow. Am I missing something
> in your comment?

 

[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

I've got 4 hereford heifers that cycled too late to breed for spring calfing that I am going to sell in the fall and I plan on replacing w/ some young angus heifers. I bought 18 straws of Larks Canyon this past spring and only used 6 so I will have some nice low birthrate semen to use on them. The embryo activity is to supplement this w/o having to sell off some nice size quality herefords. They are a more gentle/manageable creature but just don't have the market following of the Angus breed. You might say I get to have my cake & eat it too.

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[Anonymous]

The three years is to get an embryo calf into production; almost a year gestation time, then calving her out as a two-year old. By buying a good bred heifer, you'll have a live calf in 6-8 months. There are the tranfer expenses, drugs for getting the recips ready, maybe shipping costs on the embryos. Some of the embryos won't "take", some will be bulls, etc. It's certainly a way to go, just be sure the genetics are superior genetics. Just being an embryo transfer doesn't make the calf any better than a natural calf. Good luck...

> Frankie, Thanks, but I'm not sure
> I understand your comment about it
> taking 3 years to have an embryo
> calf on the ground. My strategy is
> to continue to AI my existing 3
> Angus while possibly doing
> transplants in my existing
> Herefords. The herefords are
> pregnant currently so I would not
> see an embryo calf from them until
> spring '03. At that time the
> genetics of those calves s/b
> superior to what I get AI'ing my
> existing Angus. With that strategy
> I can get my embryo calves w/o
> trading up to a more expensive
> host cow. Am I missing something
> in your comment?

[email protected]

 

[Anonymous]

Depending on your location, blakc baldy calves may bring as much as Angus, if so, why not keep your good Hereford cows and just breed them to angus bulls?

dunmovin farms

> I've got 4 hereford heifers that
> cycled too late to breed for
> spring calfing that I am going to
> sell in the fall and I plan on
> replacing w/ some young angus
> heifers. I bought 18 straws of
> Larks Canyon this past spring and
> only used 6 so I will have some
> nice low birthrate semen to use on
> them. The embryo activity is to
> supplement this w/o having to sell
> off some nice size quality
> herefords. They are a more
> gentle/manageable creature but
> just don't have the market
> following of the Angus breed. You
> might say I get to have my cake
> & eat it too.

 

[Anonymous]

In SW PA black Baldies do command about the same price at auction as Angus but that's for production cattle and you describe my current operation. All my stock are bred to Angus via AI. I'm also looking at going for breeder cattle and test both ends of the market.
> baldy calves may bring as much as
> Angus, if so, why not keep your
> good Hereford cows and just breed
> them to angus bulls?

> dunmovin farms

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[Anonymous]

About a year ago we looked into the seedstock business, we decided we were too old to wait the amount of time it would take to start getting a decent return on our time. Unless we picked a rather obscure breed and bought into the very top of the genetics we would have been completeing with hundreds if not thousands of others with 25 to 50 cows trying to make a name for ourselves that would allow us to get the money out of it that we had invested just in the first purchases of stock. To get known we would have had to show. Not for us to play those games

dunmovin farms

> In SW PA black Baldies do command
> about the same price at auction as
> Angus but that's for production
> cattle and you describe my current
> operation. All my stock are bred
> to Angus via AI. I'm also looking
> at going for breeder cattle and
> test both ends of the market.

 

[Anonymous]

Is there a bull testing station in your area? Do they have a sale? We've done well by testing our bulls at Oklahoma Beef, Inc. (OBI) and selling them through their twice yearly sales. We could never compete with the "big" names in the show area; they have 4-5 folks doing nothing but working with their show cattle. They hit all the big shows and know all the judges. But our bulls test alongside their bulls and often as not, outperform them where it counts, on the scales. Buyers come to these sales looking for performance and are just as willing to buy my bull as the "big" guy's, if mine outperformed his. There is performance test data available on the net so it's fairly easy to identify which bulls perform and which don't. We can all use those good bulls via AI. Just something to think about when you start feeding and marketing bulls....

> In SW PA black Baldies do command
> about the same price at auction as
> Angus but that's for production
> cattle and you describe my current
> operation. All my stock are bred
> to Angus via AI. I'm also looking
> at going for breeder cattle and
> test both ends of the market.

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