Bovine IVF, in vitro fertilisation.
Why choose IVF?
IVF is a cost-effective way to rapidly accelerate the genetic advancement of both pedigree and/or commercial herds
The cost is approximately £165 per embryo produced, excluding the cost of any semen used in the process.
The highest genetic gains are seen when IVF is used in conjunction with Genomic Testing or Profitable Lifetime Index (PLI) figures. The heifers with the highest genetic merit are identified for use as donor animals & their embryos are transferred into the heifers & cows on farm with poorer genetic merit
IVF involves a short line up program with relatively few interventions
IVF can spread expensive or rare semen straws across multiple donors or collections, subject to quality
IVF with a particularly productive donor might allow you to split oocytes across two different sires so that, potentially, we might freeze embryos from two mating's following a single collection.
The processes can be repeated every two to four weeks
IVF works well with pregnant as well as non-pregnant donors and can be done until the donor animal is around 4 months in calf.
IVF works well with conventional flush failures
IVF can be especially useful for Johnes & Neospora positive animals. The embryos produced from them will be free of disease!
What will it cost?
£150 per collection
£110 per grade 1 embryo frozen
Tyndale currently freezes only grade one embryos
Embryos of a lower grade will only be frozen & charged for if this has been agreed
£140 drug treatments per donor, approximately
Did you know?
IVF is used to great effect with both sexed & unsexed semen
The use of IVF, already well established in beef herds in UK, is increasingly gaining traction in dairy herds as well, reflecting a general trend elsewhere in the world towards IVF, notably in US & Brazil
We can transfer embryos fresh 8 days after collection to give slightly enhanced hold rates
Although optimal results are achieved on site, we can also collect on farm. This may involve a small additional charge or a minimum number of donor animals for collection.
Tyndale have residency options available for IVF donors
We can produce embryos for export but additional checks & steps may be required
Additional requirements?
Your herd must be free of TB restrictions or other veterinary prohibition or quarantine measures. There is no requirement for a pre movement TB test unless donors are staying with us for multiple collections.
Donors must have been resident in the previous 12 months in herds that have been free of any clinical Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR) or Infectious Pustular Vulvovaginitis during this time
Donors must have been on the same holding continuously for the 30 days immediately prior to collection. 60 days if the donor has been imported in the last six months.
What are your next steps?
Contact a member of the team to discuss your goals & circumstances & to agree a date for collection should you decide to proceed
There is a 6-day line-up process involving 4 to 8 carefully programmed interventions. Programs & treatments will be sent to you in the post, using a next day delivery service.
The team applies to APHA for a licence to collect & sends a brief veterinary declaration to your own vet for signature.
We will ask that you arrange the delivery to site of two straws each of your first-choice bull & your reserve-choice bull.
Semen straws or a small portion of them may be ‘stress tested’ in advance to ensure that the semen is of sufficient quality for use in the laboratory & also to minimize the risk of introducing any infection to the plate as infection will kill any developing embryos. Straws may be delivered direct from your supplier, shipment arranged by the team or straws may be brought on collection day in an appropriate flask if you have one.
What should you expect on collection day & beyond?
Each donor will be in & out of the temperature-controlled collection room in around 30 to 40 minutes.
Epidural anaesthesia & non-steroidal pain relief will be given though we do ask that the latter is given the night before or on loading if possible.
We have a safe, one-way handling system in system in place on site. If you have specific concerns about your animals, please do let us know in advance so that we can take any additional precautions needed.
The aspirate from each collection is immediately passed through a sealed hatch to the embryologist in our adjacent search room. Oocytes are graded & counted within 20 minutes or so of collection & are then matured overnight in our incubators & fertilised the next day in our laboratory. Oocytes are much more sensitive to changes in temperature than embryos. The collection & search rooms are maintained at a constant temperature of around 27 degrees Celsius. All handling of genetic materials takes place on a heated stage.
Embryos that make the grade are frozen 7 to 9 days after collection.
The team will be in contact 9 days after collection to let you know how many grade-one embryos we have frozen for you.
Embryos are held in cryogenic storage until required
On average you might expect to freeze 5 or 6 grade one embryos per collection. This figure is donor dependent. The use of sexed semen for fertilization can reduce the number of embryos we are likely to freeze.
An official record (ET1) is generated by the team to clearly record all information required by the authorities & breed societies. The record has a unique number which allows it to be easily located for years to come. We record details of the collection including donor, sire & owner information, details of any embryos frozen or transferred along with details of the freezing method used & instructions for thawing prior to transfer. Copies of the record are sent by the team to the breed society, to the client & are also kept on file. Copies of the record accompany all embryos when they move from one storage facility to another.