Early Pregnancy Diagnosis   Use of the ultrasound allows pregnancy diagnosis as early as 26 days post insemination. Pregnancy confirmation at this early stage allows pregnant cows to be moved to a separate management group and managed less intensively (continued heat checking and/or a recheck 60-90 days later is highly recommended as there will be a normal 6-8% pregnancy wastage or loss between 21 and 60 days post-conception). It also allows open cows to be "short-cycled" and reinseminated or set up as recipients, decreasing the number of days open.   Fetal Sexing   Sex of the fetus can be accurately determined via ultrasound between 60 and 90 days post-conception. The external genitalia (genital tubercule) is visualized and the determination of male or female is made. Knowledge of fetal sex can be useful in culling decisions, marketing embryos of one sex or another, and future donor management. Under the direction of a competent practitioner, fetal sexing is 99% accurate.   Ovarian Activity/Reproductive Tract Evaluation   Pre-breeding evaluation of the herd can be done using ultrasound, as well. Ovarian activity can be diagnosed and cows can be segregated into cycling vs. non-cycling and treated accordingly. This saves time and money when compared to treating all cows as cycling or non-cycling, rather than according to their estrous status. Ultrasound is also a useful, more accurate means for diagnosing ovarian cysts, follicular vs. luteal and comes into play when evaluating donor status and trying to diagnose and treat problem donors.     Dr. Andy and Katherine Meadows e-mail address: SpringwoodLivestockMgt@worldnet.att.net phone: (540) 254-2710   © 2001-1998. All Rights Reserved. Designed and Developed by Breeders' World. The First Complete Online Livestock Breeders Directory.