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Sexed Semen?

C

Circle J Ranch

Joined Jul 2010
429 Posts | 1+
Waynesboro, Pa 17268
In my travels here and talking to deer farmers I have heard more and more about the use of Sexed semen in Whitetail Herds. I understand the premise of the idea and the thought of it is curious to me.



I was wondering what is the common senses out there on this latest trend?



Could this help or harm the industry?



Have you used it or purchased an animal that was a result of this breeding?



Thanks for sharing.
 
Matt, I think this will be one of those tabboo subjects that will probably get more views than responses!



My thoughts are that it will slow a few of the smaller farms down with the price.... from what I have heard is going from $5,000 up to $7,500 this year



I have talked to many that feel it will help by eliminating a large amount of doe fawns IF farms using it have good success rates.



I have talked to many that feel it will help those NOT using it to sell fawns to farms that will eventually will need them for an outcross.



I have not purchased any animals that came from a sexed semen program.



I can see both sides and am sceptical of the view from both sides of that fence!........but I have no plans of using it now or in the future!



Well I broke the ice for the subject (surprisingly I know:rolleyes:) Matt hopefully others will give thier thoughts. I think this is a subject that will not be going away anytime soon.....GOOD or BAD!:)
 
I could say i would do it if i could afford it. You see we live in a fine state that tells you how many deer you can have per the amount of land you have fenced in. I only raise stocker bucks so with four or five great does i could breed with just male semen and keep the farm full with bucks. When you cant sell good doe fawns for $500 then why raise them. It might stop a flooded market of does but then again it might flood the market with bucks. So in the end i say it should not be done.
 
If the price stays at $5-7 grand per straw I dont think it will flood the market with bucks!!! but if they go $1000 0r less for sure it could!!!! Its a very interesting concept considering all the doe out there and The way there price has fallen!!!!!



Scott Neeb

www.chanllowfarms.com

In The Heart of PA Dutch Country
 
The price for the semen per straw is priced at whatever the seller wants. Collection fees are $5000.00 per collection. Due to the processing involved in harvesting sexed semen a collection typical nets a significantly fewer amount of straws at a far less concentrated level than a standard collection.



As far as conception rates when using these straws the jury is still out, as it is relatively new to the cervid mainstream. In having limited data to work from, one may only use other species make a rational judgement.
 
Sorry the price per collection is what I was qouting above. I have been told though that it is going up to between $7,000 to $7,500. to have your bucks semen sexed.



I believe the collection process is the same and the amount collected still will vary there.But the amount of semen yielded is affected by the sexing process.
 
Ok it seems like you guys are missing the question. My answer is i think it would be bad for the industry of a whole. Do you guys want to give your answers? Good or Bad?
 
Mike, I think this will definitely be BAD ! I feel it will eventualy drive the price of shooters down and will force more folks out. I just don't see how it won't. I also believe if alot of the early deerfarmers could go back that they would do semen in general differently. I don't think they could ever have known what a major impact that it would have on our industry. I just hope I'm wrong
 
As with any reproductive process it can, if managed properly be very effective for anyone who chooses to use it. I think that there are a few individuals that will be using female sexed semen as well. It seems that there is emphasis that everyone will be using male semen...



If people generally choose to use Male semen exclusively on their farm for any period of time their breeding programs will be left in the dark. I like my girls and often would prefer does over bucks in many cases.
 
I think josh is right. The big breeders are just going to breed straight bc they need some of both to keep current in the market. But on the flip side the smaller non-breeder would definently see this as an advantage to cut cost and raise production of shooter bucks. On the good or bad? I would have to say it will not make a big difference in the industry. Like I said above the major breeders want both (people that have money to use sexed semen), non-breeders only want bucks(people that cant afford it).
 
Nope I agree with Josh.....it takes two......doe and buck........does only last so long ....if you don't focus on both sides of the equation your going to sink!
 
Josh, your spot on.



I look at it like this. Say you have a doe that has a very good pedigree, throws some of the nicest looking bucks on your farm, exactly what you want, right. Now I'll mention this doe has thrown only bucks, and is 8 years old, time is ticking and you really want a doe or two out of her. What do you do? I will use female sexed semen and not think twice about it.



Same thing goes for a doe that throws only does. Sexed male semen for her. 'Cause wouldn't it be nice to see what bucks out of her would look like?



It will be an important management tool used on some farms.



Somethings to remember with sexed semen.



It is recommended to use one straw of sexed semen per doe via LAP AI. With this 1:1 ratio I don't see anyone using sexed semen on their entire herd. Just on specific situations.



Just because you use female sexed semen there is still a 5-10% chance you could have male offspring.



I have yet to use sexed semen but probably will in the future. Right now I'm hoping for some does out some of the crosses I have AI'd to.



Just my 2 cents.
 
Ok im gonna say Good!!! There are nice bucks that throw big sons but there does dont do that well as far as price goes, also lets say I have bred with a buck and only have does fawns to show for it, sexed semen will get you your buck!!! Just my opinion! to each his own!!



Scott Neeb

www.chanllowfarms.com
 
I would use it, but I would be more interested in the female side of it right now. I ask a few about it at the top 30 and female was cheaper but I was told it could not be split unless it was used l.a.i. and that keep's me out just dont have enough doe's I feel good about spending the extra for l,a.i. just yet. Be it good or bad I have no idea. I am not to the point where deer farming is in the green for me yet and may never get to that point, who know's.
 
I can see both sides of this, but you're still going to have to be producing GOOD stockers that have the look. You can't do that consistently if you have a weak doe herd.

At the end of the day, you want to be breeding for deer that are bred for the antler traits and look that are desirable to the LARGEST majority of people out there. And I've never heard someone say... "he's nice, but he's just too dang WIDE..."

Of course, mainframe, beam length and tine length never hurt either.
 
A few thoughts on sexed semen - why are they raising the price? Are there really that many people doing this that they feel they can raise the price substantially? We have used it AIing in the chute and had poor results. It seems that lap AI is what needs to be done. That is more expensive and riskier for the doe. So it seems like a dollar and cents thing. What does it cost to produce the buck fawns and what are you going to get for them in the end? To have semen sexed is going to be more and you never know what you will get in terms of straws. Selling it doesn't seem to be a good route since semen prices are down and you have to have buyers. Using it is more costly and the results are still a little iffy on conception rates. If you get buck fawns you have to keep them alive in order to sell them down the road and as shooters what will you get? Don't know if it is cost effective that's all. I think the jury is still out on this.
 
As far as sexed semen goes, there is a time and a place for everything and the use of sexed semen should be viewed as another tool to reach the specific goals of a given deer farmer. For instance if a farmer is marketing shooter bucks and has a sound group of producing does in his herd wouldn't it make sense to try to swing the odds in his favor. After all it is up to each farmer to make the decisions that are best for his herd and business. I know that price right now is a major issue and may be a reason for a lot of folks to be against it but, if it increases the chance that you will have the desired results come fawning season then the cost is out weighed by the reward. Again it is up to the individual deer farmer to decide if it is worth the investment and if the choices is no then traditional methods will still be a valid option. I guess in time there will be more information readily available as to the results of breeding with sexed semen and if the results are positive maybe then more folks will see the value of having another option available too them.

Just my thoughts,

Chris
 
If these forums had a "Like" button you all would get one from me. They are all valued opinions and facts.



Personally for me i would buy animals that where the result of such breedings however i would not use the process in my own herd do to the economic side of it and the fact that it would not help me get the results i am looking for from my herd.



I do understand how the process could effect the industry by simple demand. I know preserves favor this new tech. to increase there buck inventory and it could possibly lead to issues in the breeding and purchasing of stocker bucks. But i then see some hope when i see that preserves such as Gsells Whitetails are willing to sell buck fawn from such breedings and then offer the opportunity to purchase these animals back when there of age to be stocker quality. Great partnership and nice opportunity.



So like many innovations that our great industry comes up with i feel that there is a place for it and if used respectfully can help our industry but if abused can hurt it as well.
 
We did it a couple years ago and had good results with the AI but the biggest draw back is the sorting of the collections. Just because you have a good collection doesn't mean you will get sexed straws. Over the last two years drawing at different times early, mid, and late and using several different collectors we tried collecting around 10-12 bucks and only got sexed straws on 2! The sorting process is very hard on the sperm and the whole process is frustrating. I was able to collect our bucks and have the samples in the lab in less that 5 minutes and still had these problems. We are very close to the lab by the way. Other than the sorting process you can realistically produce around 25%-35% more bucks by doing this. It's a great concept but just needs more fine tuning in the sorting process.
 

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