Seman that doesn't pass the post that, what to do?

[Amo]

So I bought some seman on a black Angus bull. Bred 18 head last year. 2 got bred Hereford and both stuck. 3 got bred to one bull, and 2 stuck. 12 got bred to this bull and 4 stuck.

The last bull was purchased directly from the owner. Owner is using the bull with et as well as natural service. So I assume they're using him ai, granted they own the semen. I know lots of variables...handling, technician, etc. Done this for close to 20 years and I hire the breeding done by someone with lots of experience. Heat detected.

Called a commercial seman rep who works for a company that had leased the bull. Said they could get the seman to meet their standards post thaw. He had no idea what the issue was. Said possibly the bull stud put more sperm in and less extender.

So the question is, what do I do with it. 18 straws left. $40 bull plus drugs and a missed cycle. I'm probably not going to push for a refund. Guess I'm wondering if I'd use 2 or 3 straws per cow? Guy I talked to said that's the best option but wasn't sure if it'd fix the problem. Do o I just pitch it, by the time you ou figure in drugs and missed cycle. Just looking on how best to move forward.

Thanks

 

[wbvs58]

I think it is a no win situation. The best you can hope for is for them to replace the semen with hopefully some good stuff but if you are like me you would have lost confidence in it and would be reluctant to use it.
I used a well known US bull last year and from 14 doses I used I only have 1 cow that could possibly be pregnant to him. I gave the 6 remaining straws back to my distributor to get tested a couple of months ago but am still waiting on the results due to a delay waiting for a shipping container to be returned to the testing place. The best I can hope for is for the semen to be replaced. It is the time that you lose that is disappointing.

Ken

 

[Amo]

Wow, yours is really bad! Picking it up was cheaper, and their 4 hours away. Guy I visited with said a vet wouldn't be able to determine anything, have to go to a bull stud. Closest one is 2½ hours away and I really have no need to go there right now. Then you do all of that and they say it's not their fault, I'm out more time and money. I spent $1200 with them though too.

 

[simme]

You could get your vet that does BSE to look at one straw and see if there is anything unusual. Would the sample pass a BSE? If not, might be a reason for a refund. A vet certified to do BSE should be qualified to pass judgement on the thawed semen. But can't speak for issues in handling/storage.

General consensus is that some bulls produce semen that settles cows better than others. Some bull's semen does not freeze well. I purchased a cane last year on a popular simmental bull. Used several straws and none of those settled. That bull is privately owned and collected. I don't want to take the risk using the rest of that semen regardless of the issue. I suspect that some collection places produce better quality semen than others.

 

[Son of Butch]

So I spent $1200 on 30 straws of semen on a black Angus bull. 12 serviced to this bull and 4 stuck.

The last bull was purchased directly from the owner.
Done this for close to 20 years and I hire the breeding done by someone with lots of experience. Heat detected.
So the question is, what do I do with it. 18 straws left $40 bull Just looking on how best to move forward.

33% conception I'd sure let the owner know and ask the owner for his advice.
Depending on his answer, might never buy another bull from him.

p.s.
you could have 1 straw analyzed, but for $680 worth of semen not sure I'd bother
33% conception on small sample size... strong indicator of problem, but low reliability

 

[Lucky_P]

Simme,
I was trained to to BSEs while in vet school and did quite a few while I was in practice.
My last 28 years were spent in a veterinary diagnostic lab setting, and we did semen evaluations - though only one local practice was close enough to bring fresh-collected samples for examination (When I was in practice, I had my own microscope and warming chamber... did the entire thing on-the-farm, from palpating testicles/internal organs to examining extended penis, collecting semen and doing semen evaluation.. Semen evaluations at the D-lab were done mainly by the technician in the clinical pathology lab - but I performed evaluations when she was out, and we cross-checked one another at our semi-annual competency exercises.

I've only examined a few straws of frozen/thawed semen, and the best I can say is:
Frozen semen is a very different 'creature' from semen collected at chute-side. MUCH lower numbers, and motility, to my eye, was really slowed.
I've not reasearched what parameters indicate that frozen/thawed semen is acceptable, in many years. Certainly, if they're all dead, there's your answer. But if some/all are moving, albeit slowly, what's the verdict? IDK.

 

[moses388]

I had the vet check one straw of a custom-collected bull. Said it was about 40%. So in the future I will use two straws on cows. Bred a few last year and none settled, so I had a straw checked.

Money and time required for timed AI. Use a high conception rate bull for timed AI.