Boarding Donor Cows

I am curious if people would have interest in having someone board their donor cows.  The boarding would include setting up the flushing, breeding, feeding, and shots.  The embryologist would bill the client directly for the flush expenses. 

NBL said:

I am curious if people would have interest in having someone board their donor cows.  The boarding would include setting up the flushing, breeding, feeding, and shots.  The embryologist would bill the client directly for the flush expenses. 

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Most ET places already do this.

Mike

But the one plus to this would be a more stable enviroment. At the ET places there are so many donors and recips moving aroud all the time it could be stressful. I dont now what your set up is like but if you are a regular rancher I would be interested in trying it out. Where are you located?



Zak

I know of a few ppl that do this and my only advise is keep all bulls away. The one guy has his own cattle with decent fences, but it seems the bulls prefer 5+ cows red hot over a pasture full..go figure! ;D ;D <rock>

I was thinking about building a barn with a good set of pens, chutes, etc.  Every year, it seems like we flush one or two cows, but it is just as easy to do several at one time.  I think it would be a way to help with the cost of a new barn plus establish contacts.  We have a couple of top notch embryologist in the area, which is also a plus. 

Where are you located?


Zak

Not a bad idea, just most ET centers already board donors and you would have a hard time doing it cheaper than they can unless you are doing it on a large scale, your time and trouble have to be worth something.

Another thing to consider is how close are you to a flushing facility?  Do you have the means to transport the cows to & from?   

In theory sounds great, but as mentioned, many places already do this.... and the more donors you keep, the more problems you will have with disease management, and "stress of movement" that zak mentioned.
Also, be prepared for finger pointing, because if a cow doesn't work, you might be held accountable...

To answer the one post above, I live in Virginia.  I appreciate all of your responses.  It sounds like maybe it would be more of a headache that I anticipated.