A faster pregnancy check carried out by a blood test is now available to producers.
The test detects a pregnancy protein in the blood and can be used on any ruminant, including cattle, deer, elk, sheep and goats.
Developed by Conception, an animal reproduction company in Quebec, the product will be available in Western Canada, Ontario and the Maritimes through Alta Genetics.
A producer can take a blood sample and ship it in a sealed vial to a certified laboratory and receive results within one to three days. The test can confirm a pregnancy as early as 29 days. The samples remain stable in any kind of weather.
Read Also
Why selenium is still an important factor in horse health
Selenium is an essential equine trace mineral that supports antioxidant defense, muscle integrity, immune function, metabolism and thyroid activity.
Earlier results are required in the dairy industry because the cost of added days of non pregnancy ranges from $4 to $5 per day. A 100 cow dairy that reduces its calving interval by 10 days can save $4,000 to $5,000 per year.
“It is designed to improve reproductive performance in dairy herds by shortening days open and it is also meant to be complementary to existing vet checks and herd health programs,” said veterinarian David Chalack of Alta Genetics.
“It is not meant to replace the veterinarian. It is a very useful tool for reducing days open in herds that are only getting reproductive management, say at an interval of every second week or greater.”
A shortage of large animal vets means time is at a premium. If farmers use an on-farm blood test, veterinarians have more time to manage other herd health concerns, such as nutrition coaching, mastitis control programs and foot health.
The new test is safer than manual palpations done later in the pregnancy. Many in the industry are worried that checking a cow before 50 days of pregnancy may cause an abortion or do other damage.
The new test is the first of its kind to be certified by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for exporting animals to the United States.
While it will be used primarily in dairy herds, it could also be useful for beef producers who ship heifers to U.S. feedlots or slaughter plants. These cattle must not be pregnant and an early blood test could avoid mistakes in shipments of animals younger than 30 months.
Other pregnancy tests have examined milk or urine, but they were not accurate.
