Sexed Semen
- Thread starter curtis
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
novaman
Well-known member
Are you asking what percentage of a given sex you can expect? If so it is +-90%.
cow pollinater
Well-known member
Short answer, roughly 90%.
Long answer, it varies greatly from bull to bull as well as from breed to breed. Some bulls just simply don't sort well and some breeds are more challenging to sort than others and the results show it. You will also find that the fertility is anywhere from the same as conventional to about half of that of conventional and it varies greatly from bull to bull. I have used literally thousands of units of the stuff and the results range from almost as good as conventional on fertility with 98% accuracy on sex to poor fertility and 85% accuracy. And to confuse it even more, bull fertility will change as he is a living creature so you can't always count on the good ones to do it for you every time and you can't discount the poor ones forever.
You also have to accept that 90% does not mean that on ten head you'll only have one off-sex calf. It's a roll of the dice and sometimes you get the same number over and over even though the odds are against it. When we look at the big picture with lots of cattle being bred to it, it produces 90% accuracy overall.
Long answer, it varies greatly from bull to bull as well as from breed to breed. Some bulls just simply don't sort well and some breeds are more challenging to sort than others and the results show it. You will also find that the fertility is anywhere from the same as conventional to about half of that of conventional and it varies greatly from bull to bull. I have used literally thousands of units of the stuff and the results range from almost as good as conventional on fertility with 98% accuracy on sex to poor fertility and 85% accuracy. And to confuse it even more, bull fertility will change as he is a living creature so you can't always count on the good ones to do it for you every time and you can't discount the poor ones forever.
You also have to accept that 90% does not mean that on ten head you'll only have one off-sex calf. It's a roll of the dice and sometimes you get the same number over and over even though the odds are against it. When we look at the big picture with lots of cattle being bred to it, it produces 90% accuracy overall.
upfrombottom
Well-known member
Sounds like all the rest of my profit making ideas.cow pollinater":3gle4q1w said:
Is sexed semen only available on a few choice bulls or can it be ordered on any bull?
cow pollinater
Well-known member
Very few,
Sort machine time is prescious so the studs have to balance genetic improvement, mate-ability within the respective breed, sortability of the semen, and fertility of the final product before they make a decision on which bulls are available to sort. It makes for a short list.
Sort machine time is prescious so the studs have to balance genetic improvement, mate-ability within the respective breed, sortability of the semen, and fertility of the final product before they make a decision on which bulls are available to sort. It makes for a short list.
upfrombottom
Well-known member
cow pollinater":5unobqjo said:
So there is a chance that some sexed semen will come from bulls that are not at the top of heap in genetics simply because of its sortability?
novaman
Well-known member
Odds are the sexed semen comes from genetics on the lower end. Semen from top end bulls is expensive. Sort out and throw away half of that expensive semen and you have a very expensive final product. Most studs seem choose not to sex top sires.upfrombottom":j85yyraz said:
Double R Ranch
Well-known member
In the black angus breed I know that it is becoming more available almost daily. Its not as expensive atleast for us as it would seem. Ive decided to use it on my commercial cattle this coming breeding season.
I am also thinking of using it on my flush cows. Will definitly mean lower embryo numbers but if it comes out it would be worth it for us. Still working the numbers on the embryo bit. Doing it all here it will be easier for me to run the numbers (for our ranch anyways).
I know that the sexing machines that were working overtime for the dairy industry are now being used with the beef breeds (at least in angus) in the dairy crunch. I haven't talked to many dairymen recently who are using sexed semen where a year (or so) ago it was big. So in turn the beef breeds are getting more of a priority now. Everytime I look at the sires more are offering sexed semen now.
I know that the furtility rate of the sexed semen is lower but I feel that if you do things right you should still get pregnancies. Maybe not quite as many first time bred preg. but still preg.
Will be interested to see more numbers on it in the time to come.
Double R
I am also thinking of using it on my flush cows. Will definitly mean lower embryo numbers but if it comes out it would be worth it for us. Still working the numbers on the embryo bit. Doing it all here it will be easier for me to run the numbers (for our ranch anyways).
I know that the sexing machines that were working overtime for the dairy industry are now being used with the beef breeds (at least in angus) in the dairy crunch. I haven't talked to many dairymen recently who are using sexed semen where a year (or so) ago it was big. So in turn the beef breeds are getting more of a priority now. Everytime I look at the sires more are offering sexed semen now.
I know that the furtility rate of the sexed semen is lower but I feel that if you do things right you should still get pregnancies. Maybe not quite as many first time bred preg. but still preg.
Will be interested to see more numbers on it in the time to come.
Double R
cow pollinater
Well-known member
Not exactly... but in a way, yes... If average amongst the breed is zero, then all of the sires offered by the stud offer improvement in most traits beyond what a breed average bull would produce with the addition of the calves being of the desired sex. However, if you compare the bulls to the rest of the lineup (which is suposed to represent some of the best genetics of the breed) then those above average bulls tend to look sub-par when in comparison to the rest of the line-up. They are not sub-par when compared to breed average. Since we have alot of customers who demand heifer calves at a low cost, average bulls meet the sorters needs while our best bulls meet the constand demand for the best genetics. We try to offer sorted genetics that fit all levels of the market but most of the market is for desired sex rather than genetics.upfrombottom":1s62wgk4 said:
On the beef end of things, I see some of the best offerings in sorted from all of the studs. Top-end bulls with mating flexibility are offered at a fair price. Since the beef breeds only have a demand twice a year, our best bulls can put out some extra product that we can sort during the off seasons while on the dairy end of things there is a constant demand for conventional product on all of the bulls.
So far I have not seen a sorted beef bull from any stud that I would call a poor choice to add in to the sort rotation. I would use any of them but I'd use it with the extreme caution that I've gained from using thousands of units of the stuff.
Are you planning to use it on cows or just heifers (besides your flush cows)? If so, have you already used it on cows? What kind of conception are you getting first service and how does that compare to your normal rate?Double R Ranch":2juwo8h0 said:
novaman
Well-known member
I wish you the best. There is a reason sexed semen is falling out of favor in the dairy industry.Double R Ranch":8uqnjp09 said:
Probably cost based on conception rate. Typically dairys don;t have that high of a first service settle ratehereford":lb3i316y said:So why is sexed semen falling out of favor with the dairy industry?
Yeah, but with a average conception rate of sexed semen on dairy heifers only being 10% - 15% off of conventional and dairy heifer calves being worth hundreds more than dairy bull calves, it should be a no brainer. The average price of Holstein sexed semen is just $28.00. The cost of the straw of sexed semen is very low compared to the value of the calf it creates.
novaman
Well-known member
I don't know what kind of semen you use but $28 won't get you sexed semen, unless we are talking very low end bulls. I breed with only the best sires available. If I were to use comparable sires in a sexed version I would be spending $50-$80 a straw. I don't care how wide of a margin that exists between bulls and heifers, you can't pencil that out. I would rather have fewer heifers of better genetics than more heifers with lesser genetic gain.hereford":22qfxg42 said:
cow pollinater
Well-known member
Pricing is somewhat region specific. Out here there are some okay bulls to be had in the $28.00 range.
Amazingly enough, most often the reason that I hear from dairymen for not buying sorted semen is it's effects on the dairy industry. Most of the guys who can afford it and choose not to will at least in part cite flooding the market with animals as a reason not to use it. They feel strongly that the market will only support so many cows and they don't want a hand in flooding it. They understand that it gives them an edge and they give it up for the health of the industry... It sucks for me but you gotta love a man with morals that puts them to use. :clap:
Amazingly enough, most often the reason that I hear from dairymen for not buying sorted semen is it's effects on the dairy industry. Most of the guys who can afford it and choose not to will at least in part cite flooding the market with animals as a reason not to use it. They feel strongly that the market will only support so many cows and they don't want a hand in flooding it. They understand that it gives them an edge and they give it up for the health of the industry... It sucks for me but you gotta love a man with morals that puts them to use. :clap:
