Thanks to your donations to the Cattle Campaign so far, we have been able to undertake Embryo Transfer (MOET) work on three Island-bred Jersey cows.

Island-bred Jersey cattle are unique as there has been a strict ban on imports to Jersey for some 150 years, helping to maintain the purity of the Island-bred cattle. Since 2009 imported genetics have been used on the island, and RBST are looking to preserve the old island genetics. 

The cows have been with breeder Jim Edwards near Aberaeron in West Wales; Jim is also the Chairman of the West Wales Jersey Group. Two are owned by him and RBST own the third cow.

The vet chosen to perform the work was Duncan Findley, who works at Vale Vet Group in East Devon. The three Jersey cows have been at his farm for the duration of the ET work.

The bulls chosen for the work were Island-bred bulls from UK Sires, and Duncan used three straws from each bull. The cows have been flushed (not a harmful procedure) twice, once in December and then in January.  21 embryos in total have been produced and frozen for our Gene Bank.

The three cows will now be artificially inseminated (AI) and returned to their home with Jim. Fingers-crossed they will hopefully give birth to some healthy calves in 9 months time.

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