Artificial Insemination

Synchronized females may be inseminated following observed estrus or they may be inseminated by fixed time, in which high quality semen is placed in the reproductive tract of the female. This technique requires a trained technician or producer. The benefits of artificial insemination, or AI, include:

1. The producer can make genetic improvement in his livestock faster
2. This procedure reduces the possibility of spreading venereal diseases between the male and the female
3. The producer will not incur the cost of maintaining a male
4. The producer can predict when his kids or lambs will be born

Some disadvantages include:

1. The cost of hiring a technician
2. The male is better in detecting heat than man

In addition, the success of AI is dependent on:

1. The appropriate timing in relation to estrus and ovulation
2. The ability to efficiently collect and cryopreserve spermatozoa from quality bucks for use on does from generation to generation
3. The seasonality of goat reproduction

There are two AI methods currently used in the goat industry. The first is cervical insemination that involves deposition of sperm in the cervix.  The second method is laparoscopic insemination and involves the use of a laparoscope and manipulating probe to aid in depositing fresh or frozen-thawed sperm directly into the uterine horns.  The advantages to cervical AI include:

1. Less invasive procedure for AI
2. More cost-effective and practical for the producer when compared to laparoscopic AI
3. Reduces the likelihood of infection and pain to the doe 

Conception rates achieved when using cervical AI range from 50 to 70% and are typically lower during spring and summer months. Photoperiod treatment of bucks during the spring and summer months might assist in alleviating the impacts of season. 

Laparoscopic insemination involves the use of a laparoscope and manipulating probe to aid in depositing fresh or frozen-thawed sperm directly into the uterine horns.  Compared to cervical AI, laparoscopic AI is an invasive procedure that requires the technical skills of a licensed and trained veterinarian or technician.  In addition, it is more costly.  The main advantage to using this method of AI is that there are typically increased fertilization and conception rates since semen is deposited closer to the site of fertilization.  Therefore, conception rates of over 80% can be achieved when this method is used. For classes in your area on cervical AI, then visit the website of BIO-Genics, LTD at http://www.biogenicsltd.com or click the link below.

• Training for artifical insemination

Embryo Transfer

Another reproductive technique that can be utilized following the onset of heat is embryo transfer, or ET. Embryo transfer has been used extensively in beef and dairy cattle for years. In this technique, the doe and ewe are first synchronized and later administered a superovulatory hormone which causes the doe or ewe to ovulate more eggs at one time than usual. This process is called “superovulation.” The eggs are fertilized by means of AI or natural service, and at the appropriate time they are flushed out of the reproductive tract of the donor female and then transferred to recipient females. The recipient females are also synchronized on the same day as the donor doe or ewe. The advantages of this technology are:

1. It increases the genetic improvement in herd or flock significantly
2. It provides an additional source of income to a producer who has superior breeding stock
3. Frozen embryos from superior stock can be shipped to other farms to aid in improving the genetics of the goat herds or sheep flocks around the United States
4. It reduces the spread of venereal diseases from the male to the females

The disadvantages of ET are:

1. It is expensive
2. The response to the hormone treatments may be erratic
3. It is hard to find a skilled technician who can perform this procedure in small ruminants

• Advance Reproduction

For more information on the hormonal control of reproduction please visit: http://www.extension.org/pages/19731/reproductive-biology-goat-reproduct...

Keywords: artificial insemination, embryo transfer, superovulation, cervical AI, laparoscopic AI

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