Ewe Embryo Transfers

[cowboysupper]

Planning on flushing a few Texels and wondered what advice/experience people had on preparing the donors and recipients as friends have had very mixed success?

My advice would be to make sure the ewes you wish to flush have a proven maternal genetics (even within a terminal breed). Good fertility, good udder placement and milky, no lambing difficulties etc. If you’re flushing programme is successful you’ll hopefully have a nice bunch of ewe lambs to go with the ram lambs I’m assuming you’ll want to sell. You’ll need those females to be productive in a couple of years so your baseline donor ewes need to meet the right spec before starting.

We only started ET4/5 years ago from a ewe that had proven herself to be the best in the flock. Her female offspring are now the mainstay of the flock and are regularly producing the best performing lambs, while maintaining good maternal qualities.

We’ve experimented and taken the odd chance with an unproven ewe too and it hasn’t normally worked out so I’d steer clear of following that route!

 

[Katarina]

My advice would be to make sure the ewes you wish to flush have a proven maternal genetics (even within a terminal breed). Good fertility, good udder placement and milky, no lambing difficulties etc. If you’re flushing programme is successful you’ll hopefully have a nice bunch of ewe lambs to go with the ram lambs I’m assuming you’ll want to sell. You’ll need those females to be productive in a couple of years so your baseline donor ewes need to meet the right spec before starting.

We only started ET4/5 years ago from a ewe that had proven herself to be the best in the flock. Her female offspring are now the mainstay of the flock and are regularly producing the best performing lambs, while maintaining good maternal qualities.

We’ve experimented and taken the odd chance with an unproven ewe too and it hasn’t normally worked out so I’d steer clear of following that route!

I've a favourite ewe with good breeding, great shape etc She had triplets this year and we managed to foster one but she didn't do a great job with the other two. The lambs are growing now and have good breeding great shape etc It's difficult not to look and say yes but the genetics are there so I know what I should do but it's hard not to give it a try.

 

[neilo]

My advice would be to make sure the ewes you wish to flush have a proven maternal genetics (even within a terminal breed). Good fertility, good udder placement and milky, no lambing difficulties etc. If you’re flushing programme is successful you’ll hopefully have a nice bunch of ewe lambs to go with the ram lambs I’m assuming you’ll want to sell. You’ll need those females to be productive in a couple of years so your baseline donor ewes need to meet the right spec before starting.

We only started ET4/5 years ago from a ewe that had proven herself to be the best in the flock. Her female offspring are now the mainstay of the flock and are regularly producing the best performing lambs, while maintaining good maternal qualities.

We’ve experimented and taken the odd chance with an unproven ewe too and it hasn’t normally worked out so I’d steer clear of following that route!

+1
We bought an outstanding ewe in 1992, who turned out to be an exceptional breeder. We started flushing 5 ewes a year in 1995, and for the next 10 years it was mainly that ewe and her offspring. That ewe’s genetics went on to make up most of the flock, along with a few rams that sold well of course.

Roll on to 2018 and a ewe that can be traced back to that original bred the top index Charollais ram lamb (retained as stock ram). It was a relatively poor flush, in Charollais terms, with only 6 lambs born. I would consider the 5 females to be more valuable to me than that one ram lamb, even though he's Already bought in a couple of thousand in semen sales.

 

[Ysgythan]

My advice would be to make sure the ewes you wish to flush have a proven maternal genetics (even within a terminal breed). Good fertility, good udder placement and milky, no lambing difficulties etc. If you’re flushing programme is successful you’ll hopefully have a nice bunch of ewe lambs to go with the ram lambs I’m assuming you’ll want to sell. You’ll need those females to be productive in a couple of years so your baseline donor ewes need to meet the right spec before starting.

We only started ET4/5 years ago from a ewe that had proven herself to be the best in the flock. Her female offspring are now the mainstay of the flock and are regularly producing the best performing lambs, while maintaining good maternal qualities.

We’ve experimented and taken the odd chance with an unproven ewe too and it hasn’t normally worked out so I’d steer clear of following that route!

Ram lambs are only a by product of our flushing program. It’s females from our best lines we want.

 

[Ysgythan]

I've a favourite ewe with good breeding, great shape etc She had triplets this year and we managed to foster one but she didn't do a great job with the other two. The lambs are growing now and have good breeding great shape etc It's difficult not to look and say yes but the genetics are there so I know what I should do but it's hard not to give it a try.

I’ll sell you a flushing ewe...
and a tup...
or some semen...
frozen embryos...?

 

[Longlowdog]

I've been around a lot of A.I days and spoken to a lot of vets.
Get your timing to the minute if you can or as close as. Get your ewes feet in good order. Fighting even a minor infection raises body temperature and may significantly affect results.
From personal experience...hold your A.I team to their timescale, if they are running 4 hours late then ask them the awkward question, 'will this affect results' forced heats don't last for ever and the timings given are there to optimise results and coincide with peak conditions.
If you are doing a big mob, pull sponges and inject PMSG in a morning and an afternoon group. Timing, timing, timing, if you have done your bit you can hold the A.I team to theirs.

 

[Longlowdog]

I'd also add, be ready.
Have sheep, tables, lighting, available sockets with circuit breakers ready to go. Have a clean work area available for the team. No draughts or dust. Dirt is the enemy and no one works well in a draughty unpleasant, poorly lit shed with dogs and sprogs under their heels. Keep calm, no-one likes working in a frantic noisy environment. Ask your questions when there is a break and not when someone has their eye to a microscope or is looking inside a ewe. Ask when the team would like their breaks for drinks and lunch and give them 15 minutes warning when those times are approaching.
You will be expected to have the manpower for crating and emptying sheep from crates.
Have a list of what ewe to what tup, what embryos are prioritised if you are lucky enough to run out of recip's etc. Figuring that sort of stuff out on the run isn't productive. In short be prepared.

 

[Katarina]

I've been around a lot of A.I days and spoken to a lot of vets.
Get your timing to the minute if you can or as close as. Get your ewes feet in good order. Fighting even a minor infection raises body temperature and may significantly affect results.
From personal experience...hold your A.I team to their timescale, if they are running 4 hours late then ask them the awkward question, 'will this affect results' forced heats don't last for ever and the timings given are there to optimise results and coincide with peak conditions.
If you are doing a big mob, pull sponges and inject PMSG in a morning and an afternoon group. Timing, timing, timing, if you have done your bit you can hold the A.I team to theirs.

Thank you.

I'd also add, be ready.
Have sheep, tables, lighting, available sockets with circuit breakers ready to go. Have a clean work area available for the team. No draughts or dust. Dirt is the enemy and no one works well in a draughty unpleasant, poorly lit shed with dogs and sprogs under their heels. Keep calm, no-one likes working in a frantic noisy environment. Ask your questions when there is a break and not when someone has their eye to a microscope or is looking inside a ewe. Ask when the team would like their breaks for drinks and lunch and give them 15 minutes warning when those times are approaching.
You will be expected to have the manpower for crating and emptying sheep from crates.
Have a list of what ewe to what tup, what embryos are prioritised if you are lucky enough to run out of recip's etc. Figuring that sort of stuff out on the run isn't productive. In short be prepared.

...you busy mid October...

 

[Ysgythan]

I'd also add, be ready.
Have sheep, tables, lighting, available sockets with circuit breakers ready to go. Have a clean work area available for the team. No draughts or dust. Dirt is the enemy and no one works well in a draughty unpleasant, poorly lit shed with dogs and sprogs under their heels. Keep calm, no-one likes working in a frantic noisy environment. Ask your questions when there is a break and not when someone has their eye to a microscope or is looking inside a ewe. Ask when the team would like their breaks for drinks and lunch and give them 15 minutes warning when those times are approaching.
You will be expected to have the manpower for crating and emptying sheep from crates.
Have a list of what ewe to what tup, what embryos are prioritised if you are lucky enough to run out of recip's etc. Figuring that sort of stuff out on the run isn't productive. In short be prepared.

Yeah, that’s the theory. Then in practice no matter how much you prepare you always forget something. One bloke has everything prepared to a tee, but his tup is a Jaffa. Another bloke flies by the seat of his pants, making random last minute judgements to the chagrin of bloke number 1. One bloke puts all his money into ewes and tups and has awful recips. One has to be first in the queue at everything. One is the but of all jokes. One is a sly workshy schemer who f**ks off on some imaginary errand once his have been done. One is relaxed, philosophical and gets with everyone. To be honest, if it wasn’t for him it would probably be War.

 

[neilo]

Yeah, that’s the theory. Then in practice no matter how much you prepare you always forget something. One bloke has everything prepared to a tee, but his tup is a Jaffa. Another bloke flies by the seat of his pants, making random last minute judgements to the chagrin of bloke number 1. One bloke puts all his money into ewes and tups and has awful recips. One has to be first in the queue at everything. One is the but of all jokes. One is a sly workshy schemer who fudges off on some imaginary errand once his have been done. One is relaxed, philosophical and gets with everyone. To be honest, if it wasn’t for him it would probably be War.

I’ve only taken a handful to ‘shared’ days a couple of times, and yes, that about sums it up.
Much better to do enough to make your own visit worthwhile. Only one person to feck it all up then.

Much easier last October. My donors were flushed at Farmgene, as usual, then I spent the day trailering recips back and forth as they implanted there too. Everything set up as a production line there and saved me setting anything up at home, and paying a call out fee & labour. The trailer trips and working in a strange place certainly didn’t affect the conception rate.

 

[Ysgythan]

I’ve only taken a handful to ‘shared’ days a couple of times, and yes, that about sums it up.
Much better to do enough to make your own visit worthwhile. Only one person to feck it all up then.

Much easier last October. My donors were flushed at Farmgene, as usual, then I spent the day trailering recips back and forth as they implanted there too. Everything set up as a production line there and saved me setting anything up at home, and paying a call out fee & labour. The trailer trips and working in a strange place certainly didn’t affect the conception rate.

I think if you move them before the sedative wears off it’s fine. Farmgene is a little far for us to pop back and fore though.

 

[Longlowdog]

I've been the guy who helped everyone, kept his calm and ended up with my ewes being A.I'd 8 hours after my time after watching various leading lights in the sheep world waltz in, use my slot, my labour, patience and fudge off. I learned a lot about my so called friends and the A.I team that day.
Namely;
don't do group days if you won't speak up,
don't do group days if there is the slightest chance someone will book 3 ewes for A.I and turn up with 6 and say there must have been a cockup somewhere along the line,
anyone with their own tank will take the pee,
if someone asks the team to bring a bunch of frozen embryos in case it's a busted flush they will always bring more recip's than they need and expect the 'spare embryos' to be implanted as well,
and much more, you have to be there to learn it.
Don't expect miracles or to have a flock in a flask after your first go round though if you set your sights low you may get a nice surprise.