cattle pregnancy testing - blood sample method

[WI Dan]

We're interested to try the blood test method. I know very little about it, other than collecting a small sample during 'catching' (when animal is in the squeeze for treatment, deworming, tagging, etc.)
Last year we had the vet come out for ultrasounds. He was 100% accurate, but expensive.

Have any of you tried the blood sample testing method? How did it work out for you?
Or, is there another way to test for pregnancy?

 

[rrlund]

Your vet can't just feel the tubes when they're in there? When we milked cows in a stanchion barn, we just bumped them. Easy when they're standing there in the barn, but not so easy with a wild beef cow. Just take your fist and push in hard behind the ribs on the right side.

 

[caterpillar guy]

When we had the dairy it was done by reaching in and feeling the uterus for the what the vet described as soft marbles about the size of a ping pong ball. .IT was done by reaching down along the pelvis and they would be right there if bred and not if not .though this was for about 50-60 days at the earliest. We checked some our selves then had him check our work to verify the accuracy. We got a laugh out of some we checked since they were where we could that were not very far along only about 45 days. He said if you can tell at that time no point in him checking them. Less accuracy on them. Waiting until you can bump a calf is a lot of lost time for breeding if there is no calf and could even make the calf come at a time when it is not good weather or other seasonal issues. The sooner you can know with good accuracy the better.

 

[sandcastle1]

we have done the blood draw for sheep, does not seem to be perfect.

 

[Scott Farm]

We're interested to try the blood test method. I know very little about it, other than collecting a small sample during 'catching' (when animal is in the squeeze for treatment, deworming, tagging, etc.)
Last year we had the vet come out for ultrasounds. He was 100% accurate, but expensive.

Have any of you tried the blood sample testing method? How did it work out for you?
Or, is there another way to test for pregnancy?

For years I sent blood samples to a lab and would have results within a week. Cost was around $3 per sample. If the test results say she is open then she’s open. If it reads pregnant there is a very small chance it’s a false positive. However knowing which cows are definitely open allows you to start over.
I’ve recently started using pregnostx home pregnancy tests. They cost a little more but you can get results in 30 minutes. It’s nice to be able to just check a cow or two at a time and not have to go through packaging samples and shipping.

 

[da.bees]

I can't speak to it based qn personal experience but on advice of Angus Breeder's Asoc, my son and grandson just attended a refresher (think advanced) course on palpation. AFIK that's also how auction barns do it.