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Our Services |
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SERVICES OFFERED
Cottage Farm Genetics is proud to offer a wide variety of services to its clients.
- HOUSING
- SEMEN COLLECTION
- SEMEN COLLECTION FOR INTERNATIONAL EXPORT
- SEMEN STORAGE AND DISTRIBUTION
- EMBRYO TRANSFER AND ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION
- BREEDING SOUNDNESS EVALUATIONS
- FULL LINE OF BREEDING SUPPLIES
HOUSING:
Cottage Farm Genetics provides comfortable, modern, clean and safe housing for bulls being left for collection, which includes proper shelter, feed and care of animals for quality semen collection. All animals are fed a ration with supplements designed for optimal reproduction performance. Donor cows have large pasture areas with unlimited hay at all times and are hand fed a ration each day, which also supplements reproductive needs. All animals are observed at least 3 times per day to ensure any sickness or other problems that should occur are dealt with immediately.
Animals needing to be kept show-ready or prepared for pictures can be given special attention to diet and grooming (additional charges quoted). Cottage Farm Genetics does have professional photographers we can call for special photo shoots. Costs on these vary according to how many different animals are shot at a given time.
SEMEN COLLECTION:
Cottage Farm Genetics offers complete custom semen collection at our facilities or at your farm. Cottage Farm Genetics understands the time, labor and costs involved in artificial insemination or embryo production and thus takes pride in our commitment to produce the highest quality frozen semen in the industry. In doing so, each client is assured optimal conception rates.
Cottage Farm Genetics offers a variety of semen collection programs to best suit its client's needs:
- Long term housing for bulls needing large volume contracts and/or testing for International semen requirements. This is also for bulls with semen production problems which can be left for special attention to try and correct the problem.
- One day collections. For clients needing only what a bull will produce on a given collection day. Bulls are brought in on a collection morning, collected, and then return home. (Semen is not ready to go at that time.)
- On farm collection. This is utilized by those with situations where several bulls are being collected and also perhaps where other individuals will meet and share costs to collect their bulls. This is not the preferred practice as there are some ejaculates that don’t survive the extra stress through handling and do not make it through the processing and freezing with high enough quality to be kept.
Cottage Farm Genetics offers complete custom semen collection at our facilities or at your farm. Cottage Farm Genetics understands the time, labor and costs involved in artificial insemination or embryo production and thus takes pride in our commitment to produce the highest quality frozen semen in the industry. In doing so, each client is assured optimal conception rates.
ENTRY HEALTH REQUIREMENTS (BULLS):
Cottage Farm Genetics is a member of CSS (certified semen services) and follows its health testing guidelines. Donor animals arriving at Cottage Farm Genetics must be accompanied by a current health certificate with negative test results and/or herd certification number for Brucellosis. T.B., 5-way Lepto and BVD virus.* (*It is advised that you do not vaccinate any bulls which are being considered for International collection, as this will cause a high titer and result in forfeiting any International semen movement.) Bulls having semen collected for International movement will have to undergo multiple testing and some of these tests vary depending on the country the semen will be exported to. Cottage Farm Genetics tries to test all bulls for maximum shipment coverage. Cottage Farm Genetics cannot test for movement to European countries (Europe, France, Germany, etc.)
SEMEN COLLECTION FOR INTERNATIONAL EXPORT:
Cottage Farm Genetics can perform the necessary testing required to enable semen to be exported to most countries. Cottage Farm Genetics can not meet the testing requirements for semen to go to European countries. Negative tests do allow semen to go to South America, Central America, Mexico, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Pricing on testing requirements vary depending on countries being tested for. (Note: CSS testing protocol does not encompass all requirements for many countries but is the base for all countries. Additional tests are preformed depending on destination of semen. This needs to be known at the time of the testing.)
SEMEN STORAGE AND DISTRIBUTION:
Cottage Farm Genetics maintains storage on a very large inventory of semen for its clients. Custom storage allows clients to store semen they are selling and have it shipped from Cottage Farm Genetics. Others wish to have their inventory split between their farm tanks and Cottage Farm Genetics to avoid loosing their entire inventory should a farm tank go bad unexpectedly. Many clients open accounts just to consolidate semen they are buying and have it in one place for later use.
Semen shipped out of Cottage Farm Genetics can go by either UPS or Fed Ex. UPS is the carrier typically used unless asked to use Fed Ex. Shipments are sent C.O.D. to receiving party for freight and tank use unless client sending semen asks to be billed for it.
It should be noted that shipments are not insured for contents unless asked for. The carriers do not offer insurance for this, as semen and embryos are considered a perishable product. This insurance is available through Cottage Farm Genetics at a special rate and should be considered on large shipments of semen or embryos, and on irreplaceable genetics.
EMBRYO TRANSFER AND ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION:
Embryo Transfer:
Cottage Farm Genetics offer complete embryo transfer services for both on-farm and in-clinic needs. CFG’s in-clinic program is designed to work problem donors, donors where on-farm is not practical and situations where embryo banking is desired. CFG’s does not offer a recipient herd, but clients can bring their own for use.
Wesley has had a great deal of success in getting cows with production problems working again. Every cow is different in its situation and needs to be evaluated before a treatment plan can be designed.
On-farm flushing and transferring schedules need to be planned out at least 2 to 3 months prior to breeding time. A successful flush needs careful planning to avoid as many of the problems against quality embryos as that an effect them.
Cottage Farm Genetics will also take clients’ cows to put in frozen embryos. Embryos frozen in the 3-step thaw method can be implanted as well as the more current direct transfer type.
BREEDING SOUNDNESS EVALUATIONS ( BSE’s)
Semen and soundness evaluations on bulls are performed at Cottage Farm Genetics or larger groups are done at clients’ facilities. BSE’s are very cheap insurance against either a very scattered or no calf crop at all. Bulls should be checked each season they go out just because a bull was good in the spring doesn’t mean he is still performing in the fall. Also, a large part of bulls not passing a BSE are due to penis or testicle injuries as opposed to semen quality. Even though a bull can go bad during the breeding season you know he is good at the start and the problem can be caught on the next evaluation before going on. Over the past 20 years, Cottage Farm Genetics has helped many clients avoid breeding disasters by checking herd sires before each breeding season. Don’t guess on your bulls’ performance, have him checked.
OTHER SERVICES OFFERED:
- Cosmetic dehorning
- Hoof trimming (also show cattle)
- Pregnancy checking (at CFG or on-farm)
- Breeding consultation (nutrition, timing, synchronizing, etc.)
- Facilities construction consultation (layout, equipment, etc.)
FULL LINE OF BREEDING SUPPLIES:
A complete line of breeding supplies can be purchased or ordered at any time. Breeding supplies include; semen tanks (new and used), breeding boxes, thawing units, breeding gloves, A.I. guns, sheaths, lube, and heat synchronization drugs are also available. New tanks sold are MVE brand and can be ordered and drop-shipped to you (will not have nitrogen). Used tank inventory varies, call for tanks currently on hand. Liquid nitrogen is also available to charge tanks at any time.
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