Reproduction - Large Animal

Reproductive Services

The highest standards of care for breeding.

Every producer wants to improve their herd conception rate, and we evaluate your operation to determine where you can make improvements. Factors we consider include:

Heat detection — Accurate heat detection can help you determine when each cow is ready for breeding.
Nutrition — Prioritizing nutrition during pregnancy and lactation helps cows return to estrus as soon as possible after calving.
Stress — Instituting practices to minimize stress two weeks prior to breeding and seven weeks after breeding can help prevent embryo loss.
Health — Consult with our veterinary team to ensure your herd is current on their vaccines, and to perform breeding soundness exams to ensure your breeding females and bulls are healthy and ready to work.

Routine herd conception management

In-vitro fertilization

Typically, cows have only one calf a year, but we can provide in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures to allow more offspring from high quality females. IVF involves harvesting unfertilized eggs from the donor animal, and incubating the egg in a controlled environment that mimics the uterus. Recovered eggs are fertilized about 24 hours after collection and incubated for seven days to allow maturation. The resultant embryos can be transferred directly or frozen for future use. IVF is particularly useful for females who have difficulty conceiving in regular breeding attempts.

Embryo transfer

Embryo transfer is another valuable procedure we provide to help producers increase desirable genetics in their herd. Donor cows and heifers receive hormone treatment to stimulate ovulation and are artificially inseminated using genetically desirable bull semen. About seven days later, embryos are recovered using a catheter and recovery fluid, caught in a specialized filter, and carefully evaluated under a microscope to ensure they are healthy and viable. We can then transfer the embryos to a recipient or freeze them for later use, which is an effective technique for donor cows who produce high quality embryos.

Bull stud services

Our veterinary professionals also provide bull stud services, including:

Breeding soundness exams (BSE) — A BSE evaluates a bull’s physical characteristics, structural soundness, overall reproductive development, testicular size and health, and semen quality to determine if they are fertile, sub-fertile, or sterile. The exam helps identify bulls who are unlikely to achieve a high pregnancy percentage over a defined breeding season.

Semen collection — Our team can collect your bull’s semen to use for artificial insemination.

Breeding soundness exams (BSE) — A BSE evaluates a bull’s physical characteristics, structural soundness, overall reproductive development, testicular size and health, and semen quality to determine if they are fertile, sub-fertile, or sterile. The exam helps identify bulls who are unlikely to achieve a high pregnancy percentage over a defined breeding season.
Semen collection — Our team can collect your bull’s semen to use for artificial insemination.

Regulatory work

As United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-accredited veterinarians, we help coordinate your cattle transportation, which involves carefully evaluating your animals for health problems and working with state and federal regulatory agencies to assure all regulations are obeyed. This ensures you won’t encounter obstacles when transporting your animals and helps protect animal health and prevent disease spread.

Beef herd processing

Beef cattle’s needs change as they age, and our team provides appropriate care for these animals at every life stage, including cow-calf, backgrounding, and finishing stages. We can help you customize a herd health management program that will keep your beef herd healthy throughout the entire process.