10/20/2025
Idexx Alertys on-farm pregnancy test experiment year 2.
This year I tested 18 ewes at 47 days post AI and it shows I have 5 open, 13 bred. Last year, I sent the blood samples to the Oklahoma State Lab for confirmation and the ones it showed bred were bred and the ones that were open were just that.
This year, I did not send the blood to the lab, but plan to utilize ultrasound for confirmation. Last year I had many sets of triplets and I would have liked to know if there were a third one in there!
My hypothesis this year was: If the Idexx on-farm pregnancy test for bovine worked last year at day 34 post AI at 100% accuracy, then I will have the same results post AI at 47 days.
Materials: 25 Idexx Bovine Kits
Purpose: To determine how many ewes my young cleanup buck would have to cover, and if the number was too large, it would give me time to lease a buck for late lambs. My cleanup buck is a Feb born lamb and my reproductive veterinarian tested him on Sept 1 and found he needed cleaned out of dead s***m cells in order to be classified as “fertile”.
Results: Out of 18 ewes tested, 5 were shown to be open and 13 bred.
Discussion: I chose to turn my buck out at night 14 days post AI, to let him clean out on his own. I witnessed him breed “Giselle” multiple times that first night, so I felt comfortable leaving him with all of them. He marked 5 of them. Giselle, Ballerina, Lilac, Lauralei, and Lily. Giselle, twice and right on time. However, only Giselle and Lauralei were found to be open by the test. But Daphne, Birdie, and Noel were also found to be open and they were not remarked by my buck lamb.
Conclusion: I definitely have conflicting results based on the test data combined with my young buck. Now, I plan to run him with the ewes until any resulting pregnancy would be after May 1, and have the option of sorting the questionable ewes and dry lot with the buck.
