Ultrasound (Reproductive and Thoracic)

Do you want to know to a day or two when your cows are due? Do you want to know if you are going to get a heifer or bull calf? Do you want to know if your cow may be pregnant with twins or triplets? Do you want to know if a potential cull cow is carrying a heifer or if a cow is aborting a pregnancy? All of these concerns are answered routinely by Dr. Comyn using Ultrasound. Dr. Comyn has been using Ultrasound to enhance reproductive outcomes in cattle since 2001. Using a battery operated E-Z Scan he can diagnose pregnancy down to 23 or 24 days (depending on the cow), diagnose fetal gender (the window to diagnose fetal gender is between 53 and 100 days bred). Multiple pregnancy can be seen at @ 25 – 26 days post breeding. Less time spent per cow than with traditional palpation. The cost of ultrasound is about $1 more per cow than regular palpation. The difference is better information to help you manage your cows more effectively.

What it is:

• Non-invasive procedure utilizing sound waves to visualize and examinethe reproductive tract of cattle, swine, sheep and goats to determine pregnancy, fertility status and fetal viability, gender and number (only at certain stages of pregnancy).
• Non-invasive procedure to examine the lungs of calves to determine amount of compromise due to pneumonia

Key Benefits:

• Determine if a female conceived in as little as 28 days from breeding
• Confirm viability of fetus and assess the uterine environment
• Determine age and gender of fetus to better plan calving season
• Detect multiple fetuses (at certain stages)
• Make informed culling decisions on pregnancy status and lung capacity
• Determine severity of pneumonia cases to determine treatment needed

How does it work?

• Animals need to be adequately restrained (chute, alley, box)
• Cattle – probe is passed rectally to observe reproductive tract
• Sheep, Goats, Swine – probe is placed on abdomen using alcohol and lubricant to transmit sound waves
• The image is transmitted to either screen or goggles and enables us to see uterine and fetal structures
• For lungs – hair is clipped (if necessary) and alcohol is used to transmit sound waves.