Embryo Transfer

[Andyva]

Anyone have any experience doing this? How much does it cost to put them in? What is a good price for embryos? Can most vets do it, or is it pretty specialized?

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Some vets can likely do it, but your better off finding someone who does this for a living.

 

[branguscowgirl]

I have an Embryologist right down the street from me. There are some vets with special training, however It can be quite costly if they are not experienced.
Cost will depend on what embryos you purchase. Plus your vet costs are likely different in your area from mine. So best to call people in your area.

 

[shortybreeder]

Typically, sellers will guarantee 1 pregnancy in a package of 3 or 4 as long as it is implanted by a certified embryologist. Some A.I. technicians are capable of it it but most aren't "certified" so you would be throwing the guarantee out the window... Plus they tend to have lower success rates than someone who specializes in it.

 

[bse]

I pay 60 to put in fresh and 75 for frozen. You will have the cost to set up the recips also, if you do your own work it will cost about 18 dollars per head to sync those. You can pay as much as you want for the embryos. Id guess most vets dont do that type work.

 

[Andyva]

Looks like the vet college that I live close to have a certified embryologist on staff, I'll have to call for pricing, but they are usually pretty reasonable. Drawback is that they have students doing all the work, so I don't know how the guarantees would work. How much would shorthorn embryos run? Could you even get shorthorn embryos from the more commercial, non-clubby types? Seems like a lot of stuff I'm seeing is "call for price" and it's out of Trump or something like that, so I'm not bothering calling.

 

[polledbull]

you are in Luck , one of the best embryologist in the nation is in VA, and there are several others good ones up there as well , one of the best is from the Stauton- Harrisonburg area, just ask around , his name is world renounend with embryo work and he has done many reports and studies with universities in VA and written many studies with breed publications . I have used him on my place , and was very pleased.

 

[branguscowgirl]

We have one that travels with his whole set-up back and forth through Oregon, Washington and California. You may even find someone like that. "A Traveling Embryologist"! Go figure........... :roll:

 

[shortybreeder]

At the NWSS Summit National Shorthorn Sale I got the lowest priced embryos for $300 each, but those were 3/4 bloods and full sibs to a 2011 NWSS Res. Ch. ShorthornPlus Female. The best package IMO brought $1400 each, but those were sired by a bull whose semen sold for $2500/unit the previous year (with proceeds going to a Memorial fund). I know Fire Sweep does a lot of embryo stuff so they might be able to ball park it better, but I'd say you can find decent ones for $200-$300... Maybe even less if you buy the older/outdated genetics. I've seen a post on here where someone said they had used some embryos they got for $50 each. It really varies by quality and whether something is still popular.

 

[Jake]

Use a good embryologist to put them in. It's worth every penny. We had a guy use our cows for recips, he had the local vet put them in and it was an utter failure. 1 calf out of 16 tries.

 

[Andyva]

Sounds like you would be looking at $900 to $1200 per live calf, based on syncing the cows, paying the embryologist, paying two to three hundred for three embryos that might get you one live calf. Makes a bred heifer sound better all the time. I'm guessing the main advantage is the fact that you can't ship a bred heifer in the mail.

 

[shortybreeder]

Yes, that's pretty close. Considering you then have to feed the cow during gestation and then feed the calf for 2 years before it has a calf... So the genetics need to be really special to be worth it.

 

[pdfangus]

the embryologist in Harrisonburg that someone else mentioned went five for five for me on purchased embyos....

later we flushed our best two cows and did very well as well...we ran out of recips and I had a good sized bunch set up....

Ashby Embryo.....Dr Randall Hinshaw.

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

We have been having really good luck the last two seasons with three out of three embryos sticking. Our embryologist charges $75 per embryo plus a $10 fuel charge, so $85 for one (which is typically what we do). We run off of natural heats, so no expense with hormones. Most of our embryos have been purchased for less than $300 each, cheapest being $100 and most expensive was $450 each. Those $100 embryos, I bought 5, have put in 4 and got 100% conception on those 4. I have 3 calves on the ground and one due in the fall, still one more embryo in the tank. Of those three, one has been a heifer and two are bulls, all quality stock that will go on as breeders. So it pays. You just have to do your research, watch sales, and know your genetics. If you are just looking for better stuff to be used commercially, I bet you can pick up some stuff pretty cheap that is older genetics.

 

[polledbull]

Dr. Randall Hinshaw has done work for me on many occasions , and he can sometimes get as good as a good AI tech will breeding , we have done groups were we would get upwards of 80-85% on groups of 12-15 head with fresh embryos , he is by far one of the best Embryologist in the nation , Not to mention he is a super nice guy , and the most knowledgible man I have ever meet when it comes to reproductive issues in cattle . I think he wrote the book on it

 

[gizmom]

Dr Randall Hinshaw from Ashby has been doing our work for the past three years and our conception rate has been in the high 70% range that is with both fresh and frozen eggs. Our experience has been a little different with purchased embryos as far a guaranteed pregnancies. The ones we purchase there is a guarantee of 50% conception when using a certified embryologist.

Gizmom