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Typically a cow will yield an average of 5-6 viable embryos, while maiden heifers tend to average 4-5


such as group changes or diet changes, should also be avoided in this time as this can induce stress and poor fertility performance. The use of propylene glycol (150ml daily) during the





superovulation programme can also be beneficial.


The superovulation programme itself involves twice daily injections (of at least eight hours apart) for four consecutive days. Handing and storage of these medicines is vital for the success.


It is recommended that the injections are given using 1½ inch 18 gauge needles to ensure a deep intra muscular injection. Keep any FSH (follicle superovulation hormone) in the fridge during the programme. Any left over reconstituted FSH can be frozen immediately after the last injection and re-used at a later date. Good handing facilities for accurate injection administration should be available.


Insemination is critical to the success of the embryo collection. The use of an experienced inseminator is vital. No semen in the correct place means no viable embryos on collection. Using sexed semen can be


successful (maiden heifers preferably), but generally these will yield fewer viable embryos/collection than conventional semen as there are only


likely to be carried out.


Check with your vet if you wish to target these at risk cows as these boluses need to be administered three weeks prior to calving and are prescription only medicines.


Good consistent diets are key for donor cows. Try to avoid wet inconsistent forages and try to have forage and mineral


analysis of your donor’s diet. Ideally they should not be loosing too much condition. Consistent diets which achieve good dry matter intake (with good energy density and mineral specification) at least 5-6 weeks prior to flushing will help the outcome of embryo collection.


Major management changes, THE JOURNAL AUGUST 2015 57


2m sperm in a sexed straw versus 10-20m in conventional. Now that all ET born calves are required to be DNA tested, many breeders now use a “cocktail” of 2-4 bulls over the three inseminations done in the programme. This can improve results as there can be a bull/semen effect on the outcome of the number of viable embryos. Typically a cow will yield an average of 5-6 viable embryos, while maiden heifers tend to average d 4-5. There are of course, a spectrum of results as donors will respond differently to each other


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