PROFESSIONAL SCANNING/ULTRASOUND OF LIVESTOCK
SHEEP: Show Lamb Flocks & Commercial Flocks  |  GOATS: Show Goats & Commercial Goats

Call and schedule your appointment!!!

Scan For Fetal Number & Gestation Age
I’ll make a farm visit when you know your ewes have been exposed to a buck for 30-80+ days.

• Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska & Missouri
• It's a state statute that the following states must be scanned or directly supervised by a licensed veterinarian.

What is scanning with ultrasound?
Ultrasound is the use of high frequency sound waves in order to produce images of internal animal structure upon a screen. This gives us a visible picture of the internal organs. It works in much the same way as sonar or radar does. Ultra sounding of the female uterus allows us to determine if a female is pregnant and also if multiple fetuses are present. Measurements of the fetus also allow us to determine the fetal age if desired. This procedure is most effective and accurate at 45 to 95 days of pregnancy and is 90% accurate.

What does it involve?
For those unfamiliar with ultrasouding it involves a portable ultrasound machine that is brought to your farm or ranch. The female is restrained in a crate/chute while a transducer is placed on the females abdomen. Once a reading is taken the female can be marked and then released. Two to three people are usually needed in order to properly handle the females. The females must also be held off of feed for 18 to 24 hours prior to scanning. Animals with too much fill are hard or impossible to ultrasound because of food material and gas interfering with the sound waves.

Benefits:
The benefits of ultra sounding are numerous, they are:

• Removal of open females.
  - Prices for females are frequently better in the fall vs. the spring.
  - Allows for proper usage of winter feed
  - Not having the disturbance of dry ewes running amongst lambing ewes at lambing time

• Improved survival of multiple bearing females
  - Proper feeding and management of these females can result in increased milk production and
    decreased incidences of pregnancy toxins and fewer dystocia problems.
  - knowing your lambing percentages ahead of time allows you to make proper management changes
    much earlier. A 120% lamb crop requires a different management program than a 200% crop.

• Improved milk production/lamb weaning weights
  - proper management also results in improved lamb survival, better lamb nutrition , and therefore
    increased weaning weights.