Understanding the Recipient Program
Our recipient program is designed with the busy producer in mind. We source and maintain high-quality, multiparous, small ruminant recipients to transfer client embryos into. Once a client schedules a transfer date with us, we set up a suitable group of recipients for the transfer. Our team of reproduction experts handles all of the estrous synchronization, heat detection, and transfer of the embryos at our facility. We can transfer conventionally-produced embryos, IVF embryos, fresh embryos, and frozen-thawed embryos.
After the embryos have been transferred, the recipients are housed at our facility for at least 45 days. We elect to wait until 45 days gestation to ultrasound the recipients for pregnancy in order to minimize the risks of early term embryo loss and give our technician the ability to perform the most accurate count of fetuses. The technician evaluates fetal development, number of fetuses, presence of heartbeat, and amount of amniotic fluid. These results are then communicated to the client to allow for arrangement of pickup and transportation.
Advantages of the Recipient Program
Time – Saver
Sourcing and managing a herd of recipients can be extremely time-consuming and labor intensive. Since we handle all of the legwork, taking advantage of our recipient program allows our customers to conserve their most valuable resource, their time.
Recipient quality
We know that pregnancy rates in the recipient herd are greatly influenced by the quality and condition of the females in the herd. That’s why we are committed to sourcing only high-quality, healthy, multiparous small ruminants for our recipient program. The females are then maintained in ideal condition for embryo transfer in a pasture setting with free-choice grass/hay and supplemental grain. We also provide a high-quality free choice mineral to ensure all nutritional needs are met.
Important Considerations for the Recipient Program
Cost
The cost of purchasing a recipient sheep/goats from us fluctuates with the market, overall availability, and is partially dependent on how long the recipient remains at our facility post-transfer. Please contact us to obtain current availability and pricing. Please note that the embryo transfer is an ancillary charge at our standard rates. To find out our current rates, please contact our office at 620.223.1726. The recipient females must be picked up within 10 days of the 50-day confirmation and paid in full before they can be released.
Pregnancy rate
Pregnancy rates in a recipient herd are affected by a number of factors including (but certainly not limited to) recipient age, breed, condition, and postpartum status as well as embryo quality and technician skill. Our clients can rest assured that we use only the highest-quality, healthy, multiparous females to stock our recipient herd. We also have multiple veterinarians on staff along with our managers to monitor the overall health and nutritional status of the females pre and post embryo transfer.