As part of the A.I training held by GENEX, we had to learn proper semen handling and care. For artificial insemination it relies on the fact that the semen is being preserved in liquid nitrogen storage tanks and follows a precise series of steps to ensure that the semen is not killed upon thawing. For starters, we were told that the tank should not sit directly on the concrete as the cold temperature from the liquid nitrogen can actually get pulled by the concrete and we do not want this to happen. Our tank sits on a pallet of wood to prevent this cold escape.
When we are ready to take a semen straw, we need to carefully and slowly remove it from the tank by lifting a single canister up to the visible frost line so that we can reach a straw using tweezers. At this point need to determine what type of inventory you have because semen straws can be thawed in two ways: pocket thaw or warm water thaw. Most straws require warm water thaw method, while GENEX stud code 1 semen straws can be pocket thawed or warm water thawed. My farm does not have any straws capable of being pocket thawed so I will discuss the warm water method. For this, there is a temperature controlled device that we fill with water to the fill line and maintains temperature between 96 and 98 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the semen straw is deposited, we have roughly 45 seconds to prepare the breeding gun, grab several paper towels, and cover arm with a breeding sleeve of choice. Loading a straw is important because one end of the straw will be slightly crimped and this needs to be cut. If we don't cut the straw there is no chance that the semen will ever be deposited into the uterine body of the cow so it is important to not forget this simple step. Sterilization is key, so practicing aseptic techniques is very important to ensure that we are not introducing undesired bacteria into the reproductive parts of the cow.
Today we shipped 5,043 gallons of milk.
Today we had _ new calves.
No comments:
Post a Comment