Question

Explain multiple ovulation and embryo transfer in cattle.

Answer 1

• Multiple ovulation and embryo transfer is an effective method of increasing the reproduction rate in farm animals.
• All the female animals are capable of producing far more eggs than they ever need over their lifetime.
• Embryo transfer uses Follicle Stimulating Hormones to cause the ovaries to release more than one egg in a cycle.
• These embryos can be transferred into the surrogate mothers who are at the same stage of their cycle but have not been mated.
• Many of these embryos are accepted by the recipients and a normal pregnancy occurs. Alternatively the embryos can be frozen for sale or late transfer
• Controlled internal drug release are coated with progesterone and inserted in the animals. which helps to maintain pregnancy.
• The donor female is given an epidurnal injection to relax her bowel and her rear is cleaned and sterilized after that a vet or a technician uses inserts catheter into the vagina through the cervix and up the uterus.
• This catches the embryo and after repeating the process several times the catheter is removed with the collected eggs.
• The collected filter is rinsed into a petri dish and searched with a microscope and counted, graded and washed. Then after the ovaries of the recipient animal is checked the transfer gun is inserted into the vagina and passed through he cervix to the uterus where the embryos are deposited.
• This method is used to obtain multiple progeny from the genetically superior female and to increase the quality of the breed.