Anyone know how much it cost to sex semen?

[firesweepranch]

Does anyone know how much it cost to get semen sexed? We have a really nice bull (the one in my avatar) and I would like to collect him before we sell him, and really want heifer sexed semen out of him. I was just wondering how much it cost.... I know I could call, just at a point of curiosity right now. ???

 

[cornish]

yes, I have been checking into it myself...

Alot of factors play into it, but here's what I got.

Genex- S. MO location-- 21 a straw if you collect conventional semen as well.  50 a straw if only sexed is collected... bull must stay on the grounds- 8 bucks a day-- no telling how long he'll need to stay there- likely several weeks.

Interglobe- 28 a straw- plus shipping back and forth to KS, or TX where ever the sexing is done. not sure if bull must stay or not-- assume he does.

 

[smo]

how much is a normal collection at lets say genex just curious

 

[aj]

Do they use sex semen for ET?

 

[justintime]

We collected a bull at Genex Hawkeye West in Billings and had several requests for sexed semen. The staff at Hawkeye West really tried to convince me that it was not worthwhile to sex the semen. They told me that it is technology that should only be used with extreme caution, as the semen quality would be poorer with considerably less conception rates. My ET vets also have not been very positive about using sexed semen. They tell me the technology is not fully developed yet to where semen is high enough quality to use in ET work. I have only used sexed semen in a flush once, and we got 3 fertilized embryos ( 1s and 2s) and 17 unfertilized embryos.

I also have some questions in my own mind about the long range affects of using sexed semen on a breed. If sexed semen becomes very prevelent, you are basically only putting selection pressure on one sex. I am not convinced if this is a good thing or not.

 

[cornish]

how much is a normal collection at lets say genex just curious

2 a straw at interglobe, no other charges.

think genex was within a dollar of that. can't remember which way.

 

[firesweepranch]

how much is a normal collection at lets say genex just curious

Just got my response back, it is $2 a straw for conventional semen collection. They do that with electro ejaculation. If we want sexed semen, like Jody said it is much more involved. The bull has to be naturally collected, so they need to use a steer, which means the bull needs health papers and has to stay because they put them on a collection schedule to get a good collection to ship out. So there is board fees. Then, if you collect both conventional and sexed, it is $30 a straw for sexed. If you just keep the sexed, then $50 a straw.

No wonder sexed semen costs so much!  Would there be any long term affects from using sexed semen in a breed? I would think not. If you used conventional semen, you would end up cutting the bulls in most cases (if you were looking for heifers). Wasted year for that cow, if you are hoping to get a heifer from her to keep for replacements. That is my goal. I want replacement heifers from this bull, and hope to have him sold by fall. I do not have enough cows to breed him to, but if I had his sexed semen in my tank, I could use him when I had the right cow and the time was good, and get what I wanted. Self gratification...

 

[rtm]

Also from my experience as being a semen representative for a company, not every bull is a good candidate to make sexed semen. They have to have very good quality semen with good volume. You got to remember your diluting the semen so you won't get as many straws.

 

[hereford]

We collected a bull at Genex Hawkeye West in Billings and had several requests for sexed semen. The staff at Hawkeye West really tried to convince me that it was not worthwhile to sex the semen. They told me that it is technology that should only be used with extreme caution, as the semen quality would be poorer with considerably less conception rates. My ET vets also have not been very positive about using sexed semen. They tell me the technology is not fully developed yet to where semen is high enough quality to use in ET work. I have only used sexed semen in a flush once, and we got 3 fertilized embryos ( 1s and 2s) and 17 unfertilized embryos.

I also have some questions in my own mind about the long range affects of using sexed semen on a breed. If sexed semen becomes very prevelent, you are basically only putting selection pressure on one sex. I am not convinced if this is a good thing or not.

The quality of the semen is not poorer with sexed semen. Its actually much higher than conventional. The reason that the conception rates are about 85% of what you get with conventional is that the straws are packed with fewer cells than conventional. So, its a concentration factor not a quality factor. Each cell is selected one by one before its packed in to a straw. Only the best of the best make it.

For some reason, people don't know that there are two different straws of sexed semen produced. One is for AI ONLY and is packed with 2.1 million cells and the other is intended for Flushing and is poacked with 5.0 million cells. To get a 5.0 million cell straw it must be custom produced from a bull.

 

[hereford]

In the club calf business where a steer over a heifer or a heifer over a steer can be at least $1000, a $50 straw  of 90% accuracy sexed semen is pretty dang cheap.

With that big of a difference in the value of sexes, why would you take a 50/50 chance with conventional?  :

 

[PDJ]

Something that I am curious about, Sullivan's stated that a few of the donors in their sales did not work with sexed semen.  Any ideas what the difference is?

 

[Till-Hill]

We collected a bull at Genex Hawkeye West in Billings and had several requests for sexed semen. The staff at Hawkeye West really tried to convince me that it was not worthwhile to sex the semen. They told me that it is technology that should only be used with extreme caution, as the semen quality would be poorer with considerably less conception rates. My ET vets also have not been very positive about using sexed semen. They tell me the technology is not fully developed yet to where semen is high enough quality to use in ET work. I have only used sexed semen in a flush once, and we got 3 fertilized embryos ( 1s and 2s) and 17 unfertilized embryos.

I also have some questions in my own mind about the long range affects of using sexed semen on a breed. If sexed semen becomes very prevelent, you are basically only putting selection pressure on one sex. I am not convinced if this is a good thing or not.

The quality of the semen is not poorer with sexed semen. Its actually much higher than conventional. The reason that the conception rates are about 85% of what you get with conventional is that the straws are packed with fewer cells than conventional. So, its a concentration factor not a quality factor. Each cell is selected one by one before its packed in to a straw. Only the best of the best make it.

For some reason, people don't know that there are two different straws of sexed semen produced. One is for AI ONLY and is packed with 2.1 million cells and the other is intended for Flushing and is poacked with 5.0 million cells. To get a 5.0 million cell straw it must be custom produced from a bull.

How is it not lower quality when they add a step to freezing procces? They spin it thru the flow meter or whatever and it breaks tails off and puts way more stress on it than conventional semen! I use a heck of alot more sexed semen I bet than anyone that has commented on her. I have flushed multiple cows with the regular from the mainstay A.I companies and have done great and bad on it. I think that whole 5ml stuff is a load of crap made up for people selling semen. It has to get some kind of damnage in the process.

 

[hereford]

If it breaks all the tails off, how do the straws pass post thaw motility? When it is being sorted the machines identify the dead cells that are not surviving the sorting process and sorts those cells off so they do not get packed in to a straw. Your're right in that the sorting process is tough on the sperm cells. That is why the machines have the ability to sort off the dead cells and keep them separate from the live ones.

Believe what you want about the 5.0 million. We have good success with it but it does not work on every situation  just like conventional semen.