Reusing CIDRs Question

I was told that once you use a CIDR that you can reuse them atleast one more time. I was wonderin what to use to clean the CIDRs with? thanks

We scrub them in hot water, dip them in some kind of sterilizing solution (we use Novalsan),  air dry, then keep in the refigerator till next year.

chambero said:

We scrub them in hot water, dip them in some kind of sterilizing solution (we use Novalsan),  air dry, then keep in the refigerator till next year.

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                                                                                                                                                                        Remind me not to have a glass of milk at your place

We follow Chambero's protocol except we store them in brown paper bags (suggested by our embryologist).  I'm sure refrig would work as well but we need refrig space.  Have had nearly 100% of our cows set up for implant over past 2 yrs.  Another interesting note, another embryologist in our area does not use CIDRs to set up recips.  We have not used this protocol, so do not know how effective it is.

A good way to be able to tell your once used CIDR's from your new ones is to tie a knot in the tail of the used ones.  Works better if you wash them first. (lol)

AC Cattle said:

I was told that once you use a CIDR that you can reuse them atleast one more time. I was wonderin what to use to clean the CIDRs with? thanks

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If you want to read more, type in reusing cidrs using the search function and there are threads that have past discussions.

Yep most CIDR protocols used call for 7 days use at most, and most CIDRS have enough hormone in them to last for a 14 day use, which ussually means they have more than enough for two uses.  Wash them in hot water, dip in navalsan, air dry in a minimum light situation, and I also store in a paper bag. Big thing is they need to stay dry and out of direct light, as with most hormones direct light can degrade the hormone.

We will have to check into things next spring but our Dr. told us the new cidr's he had this past spring, only had about 1/2 the hormone drug in them and he recommended we did NOT re-use. I can't remember the number on the bag now but trust him!!

Hilltop said:

We will have to check into things next spring but our Dr. told us the new cidr's he had this past spring, only had about 1/2 the hormone drug in them and he recommended we did NOT re-use. I can't remember the number on the bag now but trust him!!

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I will have to check into this, as I have always used CIDRs twice and have had excellent results using them even a third time.A few years ago, I kept 10 late calving cows home, just to keep the grass around our feedlot under control. These cows were all calving in May, and I decided to do an experiment,of sorts. I put CIDRs in all of them that had been used twice previously. When they were pulled, I watched for heats. Amazingly, all 10 were in heat at the same time, so I AI bred them. The next spring, 9 of these 10 cows calved in March, so I was able to get them back calving with the main herd. Last spring I set up 6 more recips than I was planning to use, so I did not have enough new CIDRs to put in them. I used 6 CIDRs that had been used once previously but they had been originally used 3 years before. All 6 had good heats and were implanted with embryos. 4 of these 6 will have ET calves next spring. I have always been told that if the CIDRs are more than a year old, to toss them out. ( For some reason, I have always washed them and stored them if they were only used once)

For some reason, CIDRs sold in Canada have historically had much more hormone in them than those sold in the US. That may have changed ( I would expect the companys that make them have reduced the hormone level so they can sell more CIDRs and at the same price!! That is how the world works doesn't it?)  In regards to cleaning them, I always wash them in a mild disenfectant and rince them with clean water and let them air dry. I then put them in clean plastic bags and store them in a cupboard in our feedlot office.I always put the date they were used on  the bag and if they have been used once or twice previously.  I have been told that the Vet college at the U of S washes used CIDRs by throwing them in a washing machine and letting them go through a wash cycle. I have never been brave enough to try this, as I'm always afraid of losing the hormone component in them.
I just noticed this topic when I came in for lunch today, and just an hour earlier, I had decided to clean my CIDR cupboard out. It was packed full of used CIDRs and I decided to start over and I tossed over 200 used CIDRs in the burn barrel. The cupboard is now empty and maybe will stay that way if I find out they should now only be used once before they are discarded.

For many years I have been washing / scrubbing CIDR's, letting dry and sticking them back in the original bags they came in.  Then I would stick them in the freezer, somebody along the way told me this was how to store them??  Once the freezer gets full, I simply take the oldest batch out and throw away.  For some crazy reason I have never had the nerve to try and reuse and either give them away or throw out.  Anybody hear of the freezer thing?

We will have to check into things next spring but our Dr. told us the new cidr's he had this past spring, only had about 1/2 the hormone drug in them and he recommended we did NOT re-use. I can't remember the number on the bag now but trust him!!

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I'm starting to think that's a 'rural' legend, I've heard it several times over the past few years.

We use hundreds of ciders each spring and use each cider twice and have had great luck with that.  After the first use, we wash and scrub them off and then soak em in iodine, then seal them in the bags they came in.  It has worked great for us so far and saves money since the ciders havent went down in price at all.

kootenai said:

Anybody hear of the freezer thing?

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Yes, both my sheep, and cattle ones remain in the freezer... both used, and unused... 

I've had success using them a 2nd time, and sometimes even a 3rd.