Storing, shipping and handling embryos

Most semen today can be shipped via Federal Express or U P S in special containers known as “vapor phase” shippers.    These specialized tanks  (MVE calls them “Doble” tanks)  have liners that absorb the liquid nitrogen, and release nitrogen vapor into the center chamber where your semen is placed.    Upon arrival, the correct procedure is to add nitrogen to the center chamber and then transfer the shipment into standard liquid nitrogen semen tanks.

Why add liquid nitrogen into a vapor shipper on arrival?     Liquid Nitrogen is 320F below zero while Nitrogen Vapor is only 140F below zero.     Sperm cells are a simpler cell than an embryo (which has gone through a week of cell division before freezing) and are safe at vapor temps.  However, moving semen canes from vapor temps into the ambient air temp can raise semen temps enough to cause crystalline shifts in the fluids.    This can dislodge essential acrosomal caps on the heads of the sperm cells.    It is the acrosome that enables fertilization of the ovum (merely having “motile” sperm is not enough).

It is for this reason that we suggest your CATTLE VISION semen come through us, as we always have nitrogen at the office to pour into shippers to cool semen down to the liquid temps.    As an added bonus, our volume of orders from C V means you will get “free” shipping, so lowers your total cost.     Maintaining semen quality up to the point of insemination is our goal.

EMBRYOS  ARE  SO  MUCH  TOUCHIER

Optimal storage and transport of embryos is to be in the liquid nitrogen at all times.    While they are often shipped in vapor shippers, here it is essential to have liquid nitrogen to charge that vapor shipper before moving the embryos into your tank storage.

An embryo is eight days old at the time it has been collected and frozen, so have gone through much cell division and is a “layered” cell, 20x the size of a sperm cell.    All those interior walls of membrane are more fragile than the simple tail, body and acrosome cap of a sperm.    Longer storage in vapor (rather than liquid) will cause deterioration of the embryo.

Thus, in our route delivery system, with so many of you storing embryos on the farm, we stick with the eight week recharge interval for your storage tanks, even though the newest models could hold semen safely for twice as long between recharges.     This is designed so that older models and large mouth models, typically only rated for twelve weeks holding, still have that margin of safety that supports long term storage of semen.    BUT if you are storing embryos, your longest holding tanks is where they belong.   In this way, enbryos will always be deep in the liquid volume of the tank not subject to that 180 degree transition from vapor to liquid nitrogen temperature.

WHAT ABOUT THOSE ¼ CC SEXED STRAWS?

These have a minimal of extender and a lower concentration of sperm cells than unsexed straws

Semen storage, transport, handling and thawing

 

There has been a lot of discussion on these topics  this winter.   Many inseminators are in such a hurry they put the straw directly into the AI gun unthawed, theorizing the cow’s body temperature will thaw it adequately.    Others, especially those trained by CRI Genex, are using “pocket thaw” rather than the universally recommended warm water bath.

CRI Genex (and Taurus Service) were the only major AI companies to use whole milk as a fluid extender for semen straw packaging.    “Cream” is the natural substance most able to protect the sperm cells through the critical temperatures at which water crystallizes.    Thus they could get away with recommending “pocket thaw”, knowing full well that this would damage sperm cells extended in the more common egg yolk, powdered citrate, or soybean oil fluids used by their AI competitors.   In our opinion, given you generally do not know which choice was made for the bulls you buy, warm water thaw bath at temperatures between 92 F and 98 F are your best bet, especially for late fall, winter, and early spring when air temperatures are well below a cow’s body temp.

Why was whole milk not universally used?    (1)  the cream content of commercial “whole” milk varies by 40%  (3.25% minimum to over 4% blended average);  (2)  it is the most difficult media to be able to see the motility and acrosomal retention on sperm cells, requiring more expensive magnification.   Volume semen produced in AI studs goes more smoothly with other extenders.

The bigger issues affecting conception rates over longer-term semen storage

Prior to 1968, semen was generally packaged in 1.0 or 1.2 cc pyrex (glass) ampules.   These are easier to transfer between tanks, can be stored virtually indefinitely without loss of potency, BUT required eight to ten minutes thawing time (in 40F ice water) to fully liquify.    Even after experimentation with warm water thawing, you still need two minutes to reach body temps.

From 1968 forward, the French straw system took over, using a 1/2cc plastic wand that took up less tank space (10 on a cane compared to 6 or 8 ampules) AND would thaw out in 40 seconds in warm water.    The stainless steel breeding guns offered a bit more rigidity than the plastic tubes used with ampules.     Under optimal handling, conception rates initially rose from this switch from ampules to straws, as faster freezing and thawing saved sperm cells.

However, the transfer of straw canes between tanks had to be done faster (eight seconds or less is recommended), and the longer straws are stored, the risk of exposure damage to straws in the upper cups on canes was greater.    Canisters holding the canes should not be lifted above the neck tube when extracting a straw to breed a cow.     ALSO once thawed that straw needs to be in the cow within 15 minutes  and protected from temperature drops (“wind chill”) once the AI gun is loaded.    It is also advantageous to warm the AI gun before inserting the straw.    None of these precautions were necessary in the days of ampules and ice water thawing.

Gender-sorted semen (and most imported sires) are in the even more fragile 1/ 4 cc ministraw.

What really defines an outcross sire today?

 

How do we avoid “inbreeding depression” when the new sires are all related?

How do we avoid breeding cows too big for our freestalls, too straight-legged to walk concrete alleys, too short-teated to milk out without liner slippage?

How do we avoid making cows too narrow and shallow to eat a least-cost forage-based ration?     Cows who also need hoof-trimming constantly to avoid lameness?    

How do we breed cows to get a full lifetime of production, so we are not stuck with fast cow turnover and $3500+ replacement cow auction values?

 

We know how.    Maybe it is time you ask us for a little help.

 

 

Mich Livestock Service, Inc   “For the Best in Bulls”    and    “High energy forage seeds”
ph (989) 834- 2661        email greg@michiganlivestock.com       PO Box 661  Ovid, MI 48866

Examples of “heterosis” sires

In “aAa” terms, in which six major qualities relating to all the functions you expect from a cow are analyzed in your cows and in available AI sires, the vast majority of higher Genomic value sires will express these three qualities:

TALL   (aAa #2)    is the physical expression of the “growth” hormone (bovine somatotropin) in which adolescent feed intake goes to bone and internal organ growth, suppressing body energy (“fat”) deposits.   “Tall” quality heifers will mature faster, and achieve mature levels of milk production quicker.    Metabolically, they respond more to corn and oilseeds than forages.

STRONG   (aAa #4)    develops larger chests in which larger, muscled hearts pump more blood volume, building more muscle over a heavier skeletal structure.    “Strong” supports immune function and health from blood circulation of antibodies and leucocytes (infection fighters) to the extremities.    “Strong” quality heifers will become larger as mature cows.   

OPEN   (aAa #3)    The quality of “Open” aids cows to continue milking in volume after they are pregnant, thus supporting lactation persistency.    It affects elasticity of rib and width of pelvis, so supports calving ease in heifers.    It works with “Tall” to suppress diversion of energy dense grains and oilseeds into weight gain so that milk volume is maximized.

When you consider the overriding goals of Genomic indexes, you can see how they focused on these three qualities.    However, as you pursue those into multiple generations, the other half of the qualities-- #1 DAIRY   (higher natural fertility, feminine refinement)   #5 SMOOTH  (a full rumen capability to synthesize energy from forages, more even body condition, sturdier on feet) and #6 STYLE  (better blending of muscles, durability of the bone structure, less hoof trimming) are being suppressed in cows and lost from the breeding population.

These are qualities that would enable you to get a longer natural life from cows, thus get more heifers as replacements, having more cows capable of matured levels of milk yield sustainable over several lactations.   It is hard for two-lactation lifetimes to be profitable at cow prices today

 

Look at  515 HO 402  Siemers Taos PRADA   at  AI Total.    His “aAa” is 6 5 1 4 3 2, so exactly a heterosis “outcross” to the typical Genomic physique.     Now with daughters in production, his PTA values have been climbing above his original Genomic estimates.

He is unique in offering double-digit gains in butterfat % and protein %  while still +1000 milk.
He is unique having both premium Casein markers, A2A2 Beta Casein and BB Kappa Casein.
He is unique in his strong “plus” for DPR in spite of that +1000 milk rating.
He is unique as a sire that can give you longer teats, bucking the general Genomic trends.
He is unique in being +1.25 on Feet and Leg composite, avoiding a “fence post” hind leg.

We offer more “outcross” Holstein sires than anyone.   “Prada” is an example.

Is “Avoiding Inbreeding” just a scam? -- to take over your herd breeding?

Mark Curry     (989) 984- 7027      Route Services and Sales

Sue Palen        (989) 277- 0480      Store/Products manager  (Order desk)

Greg Palen      (989) 277- 6031      “aAa” Breeding Guide/  Certified Seed Specialist

Mich Livestock Service, Inc   ***   “For the Best in Bulls”    “High Energy Forages”
110 N Main St  (PO Box 661)   Ovid,  MI  48866           office phone (989) 834- 2661
          email: greg@michiganlivestock.com          www.michiganlivestock.com 

 

I took a phone call from a Casein researcher in Iowa recently who had discovered a currently promoted high-Genomic-value AI bull already had twenty crosses to “Mogul” in his pedigree!
“Mogul” was still alive as recently as five years ago (passing in his eighth year due to paralysis in his rear end) and at that point had sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons with semen available.

“Mogul” himself was noted to have over 40 crosses to Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation who was born in 1965.    “Elevation” currently represents 13% of the modern Holstein genotype.    “How can we avoid massive inbreeding under intense Genomic selection from so few ancestors?” my new friend asked.    Good question, I thought…

Generations are moving so fast that few already remember that “Delta Lambda”, also deceased at only five years of age, the current leader in AI sons and grandsons, is a grandson of “Mogul”.   “Lambda” has 90 crosses to SWD Valiant and 40 crosses to Walkway Chief Mark, arguably the two greatest sons of Pawnee Farm Arlinda Chief, who was born in 1962.    “Arlinda Chief” sits close to “Elevation” representing 12% of the modern Holstein genotype.     Thus in these two great bulls from the beginnings of the “index” era you have 25% of the Holstein breed’s genes.

And it does not stop there.   Genosource Captain, who is the highest living GTPI Holstein sire of AI sons has 30 crosses to Norrielake Cleitus Luke (direct grandson of “Elevation”).   With In Vitro Fertilization added to Embryo Transfer, pre-pubescent heifers can have immature Ovum cells surgically aspirated from their undeveloped ovaries, fertilized with semen massaged from newly pubescent bulls, and have calves on the ground (incubated in and nursed by beef cows in Iowa) by the time they are 15 months old—the age you might have first bred them…  Except surgical exposure of a pre-pubescent uterus generally ruins them for breeding and calving normally, so their sons are generally “blank” in pedigree development.    75% of active Genomic sires do not have milking daughters; their ever-younger sires also have no milking daughters; their dam and both grandams may never have calved and so have no records or classification scores.    All the published “genetic value” is based on imputed trait values assigned to marker genes.

Does “inbreeding depression” come directly from shared ancestors?

The last great study of “inbreeding depression” was done in Europe, where after only three generations using North American progeny-ranked Holstein sires on native Friesian origin cows, they were seeing the usual effects:   lower fertility, more stillborn calves, slower growth rates, less will to live, frailty of frame and lower immunity, thus more health costs, and shortened herdlife.    Yet the “threshold” for “inbreeding coefficient” (ibc= 8.25% pedigree relationships) defined from American studies had not been reached.    The obvious conclusion: inbreeding “depression” is caused from SINGLE TRAIT SELECTION  (in Holland Genetics’ case, a total focus on PTA Protein yield for selecting bull dams and mating sires) --  NOT from pedigree.     

While this study was never publicly acknowledged in the USA  (I only learned of it through our Canadian Holstein connections)  it had the effect of changing the simplistic USDA “Net Merit” in favor of adding health (mostly SCS), fertility (DPR) and Productive Life traits to the total index, which reranked the available sires.    AI studs hoped this “Net Merit”change would counteract the trends in favor of dairy crossbreeding that had resulted in more foreign semen importation and less use of AI stud computer mating systems that gave them near-total control of sire use.

At this point, with accelerated generations of Genomic youngsters leading to aggressive levels of ibc% in the bulls and rising efi% (expected future inbreeding) in heifer lots, a few studs still attempt to sell computer pedigree-based linear mating on “avoiding inbreeding”…  BUT if the same stud is breeding donors back to their sons and crossing brothers to full sisters routinely to impute the highest Genomic indexes, why should they tell you to do the opposite?

It is past time to face facts.    Avoiding “inbreeding” through a computer mating based on the sire and maternal grandsire (increasingly, linear trait data on your cows is no longer collected; they just encourage you to buy their genotype testing) is an expensive exercise in futility.   Just as Holland saw in the later 1990s, after totally outcrossing their Friesians to Holstein bulls, it is “single trait selection” – in the case of Genomics, defining an “ideal” genotype and discarding all animals from the breeding population that represent outcross genotypes – or basing all your matings on a single index over multiple generations – these lead to inbreeding “depression”.

But the symptoms this time are different, and thanks to heavy (expensive) use of technologies such as OvSynch (“synthesized”) reproduction added to gender-selected semen and Genomic testing, are more subtly expressed.    This time, inbreeding to an ideal genotype is producing strong, healthy young cows who are fully aged after two lactations—lacking natural fertility, looking more like steers than cows, behaving more like bulls, only willing to milk on “pig feed” rations, and lacking any will to live if they do get sick.    “Throwaway cows” is the expression of inbreeding you will see today.    And (just like with continuous crossbreeding) in the fourth and later generations, they just don’t milk anywhere near as much as all the “genetic value” says.

“aAa” breeding guide is the only mating method that insures against modern inbreeding loss.
It does this by leading you to “heterosis” combinations, avoiding extreme physical expression.

Is DNA testing for genetic “value” the future? Or a fad??

It is clear by now that lots of useful traits can be determined at birth from a DNA test.    It is less clear that selecting on DNA alone insures we will have the future herd that an ever-changing economic and agronomic picture dictates.

Those pursuing “Genomic ranked” breeding animals in both Beef and Dairy breeds are now in many cases three generations beyond ancestors with realized (=actual) performance.    Traits we overlook (as in soundness of feet) can get extreme over that many generations, and surprise us when the calves hit the ground and after.

Phenotypic selection will always have a place for those traits that relate to sorting between “maternal” and “terminal”;  for mating to control costs of production (as well as show and sale ring appeal); and learning to observe epigenetic effects from changing environments.    Observing relative adaptation from behavior as well as data  may be a big part of how we select cattle for future performance.

Mich Livestock Service, Inc        “For the Best in Bulls”   since 1978        ph (989) 834- 2661

How much help do your calves need?

Bos Taurus breeds have been selected over time to be fertile all year long (this is not true of many Bos Indicus and Bos Africanus breeds, where fertility follows the seasons).    The result of this is many of you calve cows in winter, to enhance the salability of those calves later.

For winter calving, we have some aids to calf comfort:
Calf  Ear  Warmers    (from Sullivan Supply)   fleece-lined, waterproof
Calf  Jackets   (lined with 3M Thinsulate)   come in small, medium, large sizes

For respiratory protection, we stock the usual vaccines.   This now includes:
Tri-Shield  First Defense   (from Immucell)   colostrum-derived antibodies
Focuses on K-99+ E-Coli, Bovine Coronavirus, and Bovine Rotavirus—major causes of scours.
Effective when given orally within 12 hours after birth.
Packaged in a box of 12 single-dose syringes.     Refrigerate until ready to use.

What if a calf is born adversely, and momma struggles with nursing it?
We stock freeze-dried COLOSTRUM:  “Bovine IgG Just Like Mom” label      (Aspen Vet Resources)
Effective when fed within 2 hours of birth.    If no maternal colostrum is available, a second dose within 8 hours is quite beneficial.    This is a powder that mixes easily in warm water.

What if a calf has had a setback, and needs to catch up?
FASTRACK  Ruminant Gel is pretty hard to beat.    5cc oral doses, restores appetite and speeds up rumen development so that all newly introduced feeds can be digested.