Friday, August 3, 2007

Ultrasound technology comes to Golden Touch Farm!

We have been breeding back alpacas that had their spring cria with two new jr herd sires. When we started using the boys we knew it would be important for the girls to be confirmed pregnant to prove our new males and not to lose valuable time with the girls. Originally we were going to have the vet come out with a portable ultrasound machine and confirm one way or the other. After much discussion we decided it would be a great investment to purchase our own ultrasound technology equipment. We purchased the preg tone, it does not give you a visual reading but gives you an audible tone either positive or negative. The preg tone has a 99% accuracy rating. With having this technology at our finger tips we will be able to check females on a monthly basis to be sure they have not slipped their pregnancy. It will also be great for maidens who routinely send mixed signals in the breeding department.
I just started to use the preg tone the other night so I started with females that I knew were very pregnant and maidens that I knew were not pregnant. I wanted to start this way so I could get a good feel for the machine and placement of the probe to be sure my technique was spot on. I have to say it has been very accurate and I'm highly impressed. This weekend I will start to check the girls that have been bred back and hopefully we will confirm them positive. How exciting!!!!

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