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Cattle Boards
Breeding / Calving Issues
Embryos.....Worth the cost?
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<blockquote data-quote="robert" data-source="post: 823976" data-attributes="member: 9171"><p>we've done a fair bit of et work, not as much as some but enough to get a real handle on the costs. We put eggs into commercial cows, sometimes commercial heifers and into reg angus cows that are carriers of some defect or another. Can't comment on prices for GV eggs but Angus eggs typically bring $300 - $800 for whatever is currently defined as the 'best' genetics (though usually amounts to most popular sire currently out of a cow family that is recognized whose mama sold for some ridiculous price in a circle jerk sale) if the sire is a member of the long dead, rare and valuable kind then that can easily add a couple or five hundred to the price. Our best success from purchased embryos has been to pick up eggs out of older proven cows, maybe a flush cow of their era (for example Harmony Hill Peg 013) mated to a sire that has stood the test of time (EXT or Traveler 23-4). These have generally made the best cows over time. We figure that we are into the ET calves that are born for around $1000 - $1500 each, keep in mind that 1/2 will be bulls so you sure don't want to be making them into steers! Cost breakdown for us is around $75 / egg for home produced or $150 for purchased. $350 per pregnancy is what our ET tech charges, but nothing to freeze them, put them in or store them, his conception rates usually run >75% on frozens and >85% on fresh. He is very picky on the recips though. Many ET techs charge for freeze, storage and transfers, typically about $60 to freeze, $50-100 for transfer, so if your tech isn't getting >50% conception rates then we find we're ahead on paying per preg. We buy the calves from our commercial cooperator for market price steer + $100, and they will run about 600+lbs at weaning, right now that puts the calf at $850 minimum. Even if you put the eggs in your own cows you have to consider the value of the calf. In no way is ET a 'cheap' way to get genetics, in this market I'd say that if you can buy a good cow that calves this year and next, that works in your environment and gives you something to build with you'll be further ahead. Anymore we only flush our own proven cows, Hope this helps.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="robert, post: 823976, member: 9171"] we've done a fair bit of et work, not as much as some but enough to get a real handle on the costs. We put eggs into commercial cows, sometimes commercial heifers and into reg angus cows that are carriers of some defect or another. Can't comment on prices for GV eggs but Angus eggs typically bring $300 - $800 for whatever is currently defined as the 'best' genetics (though usually amounts to most popular sire currently out of a cow family that is recognized whose mama sold for some ridiculous price in a circle jerk sale) if the sire is a member of the long dead, rare and valuable kind then that can easily add a couple or five hundred to the price. Our best success from purchased embryos has been to pick up eggs out of older proven cows, maybe a flush cow of their era (for example Harmony Hill Peg 013) mated to a sire that has stood the test of time (EXT or Traveler 23-4). These have generally made the best cows over time. We figure that we are into the ET calves that are born for around $1000 - $1500 each, keep in mind that 1/2 will be bulls so you sure don't want to be making them into steers! Cost breakdown for us is around $75 / egg for home produced or $150 for purchased. $350 per pregnancy is what our ET tech charges, but nothing to freeze them, put them in or store them, his conception rates usually run >75% on frozens and >85% on fresh. He is very picky on the recips though. Many ET techs charge for freeze, storage and transfers, typically about $60 to freeze, $50-100 for transfer, so if your tech isn't getting >50% conception rates then we find we're ahead on paying per preg. We buy the calves from our commercial cooperator for market price steer + $100, and they will run about 600+lbs at weaning, right now that puts the calf at $850 minimum. Even if you put the eggs in your own cows you have to consider the value of the calf. In no way is ET a 'cheap' way to get genetics, in this market I'd say that if you can buy a good cow that calves this year and next, that works in your environment and gives you something to build with you'll be further ahead. Anymore we only flush our own proven cows, Hope this helps. [/QUOTE]
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