Cow Scanning
We are using the most up-to-date equipment available. The machine is very compact and runs from a 12-volt battery. Our monitor is incorporated within a set of virtual reality goggles that gives us total independence to move up and down a race without problems. This means that your cows do not need to be pushed into a head bail. They only need to stand in a race.
BCF Ultrasound Scotland has designed the probe specifically for scanning cows. BCF are the pioneers of diagnostic ultrasound for use on animals. The probe is a one-piece unit that is fully sealed and easy to clean.
The scanning operation is quick and clean with very little stress on the animal. Most of the time the cows are totally unaware that they have been scanned.
Cattle Pregnancy Diagnosis Benefits
The accurate and early diagnosis of pregnancy in both dairy and beef herds is essential for the maintenance of high levels of reproductive efficiency. It is required for the early identification of fertility problems at both the individual animal and herd levels.
Pregnancy in cattle can be diagnosed safely and accurately form 30 days after conception by placing the Oviscan 6 transducer in the rectum (which overlies the reproductive tract) of the cow and viewing contents of the uterus. External examinations can also be made during the second half of pregnancy, though the rectal examination method can be used up to 140 days after conception. After this stage, the uterus descends into the abdomen, placing the foetus beyond the depth of the beam in rectal scanning in most cases. It is suggested that scanning is carried out 40 days after the bull has come out of a herd to enable pregnancy and stage of foetal development to be assessed.
Using ultrasound-scanning techniques an accuracy of over 99% can be achieved, enabling fertility problems to be identified rapidly. The main advantage of scanning is that it can give accurate diagnosis earlier than rectal palpation, as well as being easier on the animal.
The ability to estimate gestational age with reasonable accuracy is also a useful aid to management in beef herds where mating dates are not known, by allowing cows to be grouped according to expected calving dates. The technique may also prove useful to some farmers as a means of identifying multiple foetuses at an early stage.