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Blood Test Preg Checking

T

TXTibbs

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 9, 2005
Messages
1,591
Location
South Central Texas, former South Dakotan
Anyone in here ever used the new blood tests for preg checking? Works on any Ruminant critter. Saw a program on it the other day. Has its positives and negatives.......I can see how it would work in certain situations, but I don't think it will be used much on many large cattle ranches.
 
We have been using this program for about 3 years. We sent blood samples in and get the results back in 2 days. They are 99% right. No vet or old cowboy is that close. Sent 1 cow to the sale that is suposed to be open and find out she is breed. You have lost a lot of money. Also no waiting of vet or anyone to preg check.
Good Luck
 
Well I can see how it would be very beneficial in the whole "acuracy" aspect, but in large ranches where they may have to gather 4,5 or 600 or more head of cattle it would be a hassle having to either hold them in traps till the results came back, or else just regather the whole herd....either way you'd have to sort the cattle again, which may not be a problem to some people. Also it would mandate that each animal checked would need to have an ID of some sort. A lot of ranchers don't have ALL their cattle ID'd somehow.

I see this working good in the sheep industry. Or working even better in the wildlife species such as moose, deer, elk.

The accuracy is something to be noted, but other factors will still limit it to certain primary uses. But what the hell huh? I guess the people selling it would be happy as long as sales would float them by.

I just wanted other people opinions and thoughts on it???
 
I couldn't imagine bringing them all in to take blood from, sending the samples out to get tested and than rounding up the open ones.... We ultrasound ours as it is reallly no more expensive to run them through that way than it is to arm them... We have a vet do it because 1) She has the equipment and 2) she is reliable at showing up unlike some of the day labor folks :roll: :x Also keeps me from swearing so much when their is a lady around, good for me...

We have even kicked around owning our own machine.. If we had many more cows it would probably pay for itself in a couple years but knowing my luck I would break the darn thing.
 
TXTibbs said:
On another note I found out something else I didn't know here in Texas.....Lilly, Haymaker or others you might of known this, but in Texas your ordinary joe can't go out and make a business out of pregnancy testing.
Click to expand...

I've heard that legally its considered a Vet medical service and is supposed to be performed by a licensed Veterinary- don't know if thats true-- or just a Montana rule- or a National one- but around here many do it and get around it by not charging- but accepting a $2-3 or 4 head donation...
 
Oldtimer said:
TXTibbs said:
On another note I found out something else I didn't know here in Texas.....Lilly, Haymaker or others you might of known this, but in Texas your ordinary joe can't go out and make a business out of pregnancy testing.
Click to expand...

I've heard that legally its considered a Vet medical service and is supposed to be performed by a licensed Veterinary- don't know if thats true-- or just a Montana rule- or a National one- but around here many do it and get around it by not charging- but accepting a $2-3 or 4 head donation...
Click to expand...

Suppose to be done by a vet here yeah.......but maybe the donation thing is what happens everywhere i dunno.
 
TXTibbs said:
Oldtimer said:
TXTibbs said:
On another note I found out something else I didn't know here in Texas.....Lilly, Haymaker or others you might of known this, but in Texas your ordinary joe can't go out and make a business out of pregnancy testing.
Click to expand...

I've heard that legally its considered a Vet medical service and is supposed to be performed by a licensed Veterinary- don't know if thats true-- or just a Montana rule- or a National one- but around here many do it and get around it by not charging- but accepting a $2-3 or 4 head donation...
Click to expand...

Suppose to be done by a vet here yeah.......but maybe the donation thing is what happens everywhere i dunno.
Click to expand...

Yep, here in Texas, licensed vets are the only ones who can legally charge for palpating. Anyone else you want to pay to palpate can easily be paid for "working cattle" or "labor".
 
When I bred cows for ABS the dairymen would leave cows in the lot to preg check. We couldn't charge them for it, but the free whiskey was always nice afterwards. :shock:
 
Yeap I knew that, I'm certified to preg check and A-I but just because I hold a certificate sayin I've completed the course successfully don't mean I can charge for the service. I've been asked to do others herds, but I didn't take the course for that purpose. I did it to learn how to do it myself, on our own herd.
 
I ran into this many years ago here in Nebraska.

Back around 1980 I had gone to school with Soapweed and Peachy to learn how to preg-check. When we got home, I needed volume to get proficient at it, as I had heard that to be considered an expert you'd need to palpate say, 10,000 head.

Over the next several years, I checked ours and 3-4 neighbor's cows getting the necessary experience. They always payed me a nominal amount but it was the experience I was after.


Our Vet, who was a fairly good friend, pointed out to me that although it didn't matter to him, I could find myself in court for charging for these services. At the time, I didn't appreciate his comments, but it was the excuse I needed to get out of the business and concentrate on our own cows only. I had easily armed the 10,000 head and considered myself proficient.

I'll never know if this friend would have sued me or not.

By the way, do you know how to tell if your Preg-Checker is happy?

You can tell by all the green specks on his teeth!
 
Does this test simply say open or bred or can it say how many months along?


I have had to sort cows by bred or not because the way pastures that we leased were and turning the cattle out, I had to know which cows needed the bull kept with them.....Well, our vet was very accurate, on cows bred 1 1/2 months.....Next year a friend did it who taught classes and had done well over 10,000...He coldn't tell if they were in thier first few months and was just plain wrong on others. He cost less though, LOL, but it cost more in the long run......

Not saying it has to be a vet, I have had other vets way off. I am saying if you find a good one, stick with him, lol,


PPRM
 
Our preg checker gets $1.00 per head. He can run through 5-600 per day. He also drives a school bus and is a licenses electrician. Picks up money where ever he can. Pretty accurate, too.

Our lady vet is also pretty good, but costs more iand is slower. Last time we used her, by the time we finished it was so dark we couldn't see the cows in the tub.
 
I am still waiting for the last cow of the traders I bought to calve. The vet tagged her as a June calver... he only missed by 8 months :roll:

I had some others he checked as June calvers and they calved in May. Glad he was only out this far on 1.
 
Right now I have one out there to calve yet and if the vet was right when he checked her in the early summer, she would now be 12 months pregnant! She oughta go in the Guinness book of records for longest bovine pregnancy, I think!
 
Maple Leaf Angus said:
Right now I have one out there to calve yet and if the vet was right when he checked her in the early summer, she would now be 12 months pregnant! She oughta go in the Guinness book of records for longest bovine pregnancy, I think!
Click to expand...

I think sometimes in cases like these, the cow may have slipped the calf early and rebred.....I am pretty sure it happened that way with one of my better cows. It put her in the fall calvers instead of Spring calvrs, so in a way it worke out. She is the first fall calving cow every year since then, so glad I didn't cull her,

PPRM
 
PPRM said:
Does this test simply say open or bred or can it say how many months along?


I have had to sort cows by bred or not because the way pastures that we leased were and turning the cattle out, I had to know which cows needed the bull kept with them.....Well, our vet was very accurate, on cows bred 1 1/2 months.....Next year a friend did it who taught classes and had done well over 10,000...He coldn't tell if they were in thier first few months and was just plain wrong on others. He cost less though, LOL, but it cost more in the long run......

Not saying it has to be a vet, I have had other vets way off. I am saying if you find a good one, stick with him, lol,


PPRM
Click to expand...

As what I understand it only says yes or no or bred or open...it doesn't determine how far along or anything like that.
 
jodywy said:
gee I have to bleed any way when we preg to make APHIS happy for my herd plan. oh the joys of living close to Yellowstone and summering in Idaho.....
Click to expand...

Could be another benefit to moving?
 

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