Your embryologist provides a schedule upon the initial visit to check the donor's reproductive health, confirm there is a good CL, and leaves the drugs needed and your homework. This visit occurs about a week after the donor has been in heat; depending on work schedules. If you have a reproductive concern with some recips, its a good time to have it checked, if not sooner. Cidrs are seldom needed in the recip.
The goal is to have the donor and recips in heat at the same time. One day either way on a recip can still provide 'OK' conception, with the better chance given to the cow that came into heat slightly late.
To utilize as many recip candidates as possible, start recording heats weeks in advance and those that aren't in line with donor should be cycled early so they will respond to the estrumate shot in the schedule.
Another option is feeding MGA to the open recips in advance. Long story short; donor and recips are given estrumate within a day of each other (donor gets 2 shots) and all are expected to be in heat at same time; donor is bred
and harvest occurs 7 days later. Keep records of when each cow was in standing heat for best transfer results. Do you have frozen eggs available in case the flush results are poor?
Its not all roses... more like a day at the casino. On farm flush; concider including a second donor. Second cow may be less cost.
Question to others; how do you prepare a donor (in milk) for successful flushing with respect to nutrition, vitamins, selenium, mineral sups., housing, condition score....
