Dr. Tara is a member of the American Embryo Transfer Association and can perform embryo collection, transfer, and cryopreservation of embryos. We are equipped to provide the following services at the clinic:
Pasture boarding for donor cows
Donor cow superovulation and embryo collection via conventional flushing technique
Recipient synchronization and embryo transfers
Embryo cryopreservation
Ultrasound pregnancy diagnosis
We can also provide superovulation and synchronization schedules to be done at home, and we are able to flush cows and do embryo transfers on-farm.
Donors We can board the donor at the clinic and administer all of the superovulation injections, or we can provide a superovulation schedule and hormones for injections to be done at home. Cows require about 21 days from the day of their last heat to the day of flushing. Donors should ideally be a minimum of 50 days post-calving and should be cycling normally. We can either work off of a natural heat or we can induce a heat to start her superovulation. To improve the chances of a good flush, the cow should be in good shape and should not have a calf still nursing.
We do not recommend using sexed semen for any flushing. The semen used should be handled carefully and be of high quality. We also do not recommend flushing or transferring embryos if 60 days or less from calving.
Recipients Recipient cows should be synchronized to come in heat the same day as the donor, 7 days before the flush. Ideal recipients are middle-aged, with known history. We can provide a schedule for synchronization to be done at home. We do not provide recipient boarding. It is important to get accurate heat dates and times on the recipients so that we can match them up with embryos of appropriate developmental stages.