Making history postscript…

…includes selecting the “cover bull”…that’s the bull that checks for open cows…the ones that didn’t take in Artificial Insemination or Embryo Transplant.

Selected for the job this year is Prince…the son of the last cow Wooz selected on our final trip to England.

Prince is from Ashott Barton’s Tulip line. His sire another favorite Cutcombe Jaunty.

We generally wait at least a week before bringing the bull to the herd.  Many breeders release the cow right out of the chute to the bull but Church feels traces of heat can remain.  Whether AI or transplant, we think it’s best to allow the embryo to firmly settle.  It also provides separation in calving dates to elimination confusion on parentage.

There were 22 cows in this pasture…a pretty good workload for a bull just 2 1/2 years old.  But 17 of these cows have either undergone transplants or AI…only 5 are definitely open.  Prince may want his money back.

In a month or so we’ll bring this group back through the chute…the embryos will be developing by then…and we’ll be able to tell who is pregnant and by whom and, if we’re lucky, the gender of the calf.

David