A TOPIC FOR AI ADVOCATES- SOME SLIDES ARE FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.

1. Artificial Insemination
AI
Presented By:
ANDRELORD GERON MEDINA
Department of Agriculture
Regional Field Office 1
Regulatory Division

2. What Is AI?
• General definition-the introduction of
semen into the oviduct or uterus by some
means other than sexual intercourse.
• Ag definition- the use of semen from a
genetically superior male to inseminate a
female resulting in a genetically superior
offspring.

3. Where Is AI Used?
• Cattle
• Horses
• Swine
• Sheep
• Goats
• Dogs
• Humans
• Turkey
• Chickens
• Rabbits
• Fish
• Fox
• Mink
• Bees

4. Why Use AI?
• AI provides the producer an opportunity to use
sires possessing superior genetics. Depending
upon the needs and goals of an individual's
breeding program, AI offers an economically
feasible means of increasing productivity over a
wide range of traits.
• In spite of this enormous potential to improve
production levels, many producers have not put
themselves in a position to take advantage of
the benefits offered by AI.

5. Advantages
• Best possible sires of proven quality
• Disease control
• Cost effectiveness
• Flexibility
• Safety
• No bull, stallion, ram, boar, etc.

6. Overview of Artificial Insemination
(What Has To Be Considered First)

7. Fertility Testing
• Important step in evaluating males to be
kept for breeding.
• Indispensable in the area of artificial
insemination since a bull may be worth
thousands of dollars & still produce
progeny long after his death (because the
semen is stored).
• The process of evaluating the bull's ability
to reproduce.

8. Factors to consider in Testing
• Libido (sex drive) - This is especially important in bulls
kept for natural breeding since some bulls are more
active breeders than others.
• Scrotal circumference - This is an observable,
measurable characteristic that indicates fertility.
• In general, the greater the scrotal circumference, the
greater the sperm production, hence increased fertility.
• Semen evaluation - This is the most important factor in
fertility testing. Semen is evaluated for:

9. Semen Evaluated For
Appearance
• A uniform solid, dense appearance
indicates a high sperm concentration.
• A sample which appears to be translucent
contains fewer sperm cells.
• Semen with a curd appearance should not
be used as this indicates inflammation.

10. Semen Evaluated For Volume
• May vary depending on the age of the bull
or sire.
• Younger sires produce a smaller volume
of semen which is not a negative factor as
long as the concentration of semen is
good.

11. Motility
• It must be evaluated under a microscope
at 400X.
• Most semen should contain 70 percent or
more motile cells

12. Concentration
• Determined by the number of sperm per
milliliter of semen.
• This is probably the most important
indicator of fertility, except with sires, in
which scrotal circumference is the
determinant.

13. Morphology
• The proportion of abnormal sperm should
not exceed 20 percent.
• Most males do, however, produce some
abnormal sperm.

14. Semen Collection Methods:
Artificial Vagina in goats and cattles
• Consists of an outer tube or casing which
is constructed of heavy rubber or plastic,
and an inner tube or lining of thin rubber.
• The space between the two tubes is filled
with warm water, which maintains the
collected sperm at a constant
temperature, neither too hot or too cold.

16. Semen Collection Methods: Artificial Vagina
• One end of the apparatus is open to allow
the entrance of the penis and the other
end is attached to a glass tube or beaker
to receive the ejaculated semen.
• This is the most commonly used device
for collecting semen.

17. Semen Collection Methods:
Electric Stimulation
• An electro-ejaculator apparatuses
introduces a weak alternating current to
the sacral and pelvic nerves via electrodes
placed in the rectum until erection and
ejaculation occur.

18. Semen Collection Methods:
Electric Stimulation
• It is used on all farm animals except boars
and horses.
• It is used effectively on bulls that cannot
mount due to leg injuries.

19. Semen Preparation: Storage & Shipment
• It may be kept at room temperature if it is
to be used within two hours of collection.
• If the semen will be put into long-term
storage, semen needs to be gradually
cooled and frozen a temperature below
zero.

20. Semen Preparation:
Semen Extenders
• Why Added?
• Add extra needed Volume
• Exert beneficial effect on the sperm

21. Semen Preparation: Semen Extenders
• 1. Egg yolk – phosphate: used in bull,
ram, and stallion semen
• 2. Egg yolk – citrate: used in bull and ram
semen
• 3. Homogenized whole milk: used in bull,
ram, and boar semen

22. Semen Preparation: Semen Extenders cont.
• 4. Glycine-containing diluents: used
mostly in boar semen.
• Some extenders contain antibiotics to
control bacteria and contamination.

23. History
• It may have been used as far back as
1322, at which time an Arab chieftain used
artificial methods to impregnate a prized
mare.
• The first scientific research relative to A.I.
in domestic animals was conducted with
dogs by the Italian physiologist Lazarro
Spallanzani.

24. Equipment Needed For A.I.
CATTLE GOATS AND HORSES
• 1. Liquid nitrogen tank
– Used to store semen straws at -320 degrees
Fahrenheit
– Semen stored in tank, may last indefinitely
once froze properly & temperature is
maintained

25. Equipment Needed For A.I.
cont.
• 2. A semen straw
– containing a single dose of semen
• 3. Straw tweezers
– Used to pick up the semen when in the tank &
thawing unit

26. Equipment Needed cont.
• Semen Thawing Unit
– Used for thawing the frozen semen before
insemination
– Contains water
• Thermometer
– To measure the temperature that is in the
thawing unit
– Temperature should be between 95 – 98
degrees Fahrenheit

27. Equipment Needed cont.
• Inseminating syringe or gun
– Made from stainless steel
– Used to place semen in the reproductive tract
of the cow or heifer and to maneuver it
through the cervix
• Sterile Lubricant (Lube)
– Lubrication put on plastic sleeve in order to
first enter the vulva

28. Equipment Needed cont.
• Paper Towels
– To dry off the semen straw
– To wipe animal clean, especially the vulva
– To put on top of the vulva to keep clean
• Scissors
– To cut the end of the straw just prior to
insemination

29. Equipment Needed cont.
• Plastic Sleeve
– To put on inseminator’s arm to keep clean
• Cover Sheath
– Inseminator’s gun is put inside of the
sheath so that all is kept clean

30. Equipment Needed cont.
–KaMar heat strips: heating aid with red
dye that expels when a cow or heifer is
mounted
–Tail Chalk: chalk paint is
smeared when cow
or heifer is mounted

31. Disadvantages
• Equipment- availability
• Time
– Careful herd observation required
• 3-4 observations per day
– 15-20 minutes per observation

32. Steps to AI
(Semen Collection)
• Artificial Vagina
– Cattle, Horses, Swine, Sheep
• “Milking of Semen”
– Poultry
• Abdominal Pressure
– Fish

33. Steps to AI
(Semen Storage)
• Collected, evaluated, cooled slowly, &
frozen
– -320°F
• Lasts several months
• 30 years
• 40 years

34. Steps to AI
(Heat Detection)
• Increased activity
• Mounting
• Swelling and redness of vulva
• Discharge
• Winking
– Mares
• Standing heat
– Best indicator of estrus

35. Steps to AI
(Insemination)
• Cattle
– 12 hours after heat detection
• Horses
– 3rd
, 5th
, & 7th
day of estrus Horses
• Swine
– 24 and 12 hours after onset of estrus in sows
– 12 and 24 hours after onset of estrus in gilts
• Sheep
– Two inseminations increase conception and
multiple lambs

36. Recto-vaginal Method
(Cattle)
• Remove all feces from the rectum
• Grasp the cervix through the wall of the
rectum
– Not done with horses or swine
• Insert inseminating tube through vagina
and into the cervix
• Guide tube through cervix
• Deposit semen from middle of cervix to
body of uterus

37. Recto-vaginal Method

39. Lapriscopic Artificial
Insemination
(Sheep)
• Semen injected from a syringe through a
pipette into upper one-third of uterine horn
through abdominal wall

40. Lapriscopic Artificial
Insemination

41. Artificial Insemination procedures
• Step #1: Restrain the animal to be
inseminated.
Step #2:
• Raise the tail with the right hand and
gently massage the rectum with the
lubricated glove on the left hand.
• Step #3: Gently wipe the vulva with a
paper towel to remove excess manure
and debris.

42. Procedure for artificial insemination
Step #4:
Insert the gun at a 30° upward
angle to avoid entering the urethral
opening
and bladder located on the floor of the
vagina.

43. Procedure for artificial insemination
Figure #1: Keeping the gloved
hand even with the tip of the
inseminator gun.
Figure #2: Allowing
manure to pass over the
top of the hand and arm.

44. Procedure for artificial insemination
Figure #3: Dealing with colon constrictions.
Figure #4: Grasping the cervix and gently moving it
forward

45. Procedure for artificial insemination
Figure #5: Close-up of the cervix.
Figure #6: Finding the opening of the
cervix.

46. Procedure for artificial insemination
Figure #7: Moving the cervix over the tip of the insemination gun.
Figure #8: Locating the end of the insemination gun.

47. Procedure for artificial insemination
Figure #9: Depositing the semen in the body of the uterus
Figure #10: Good distribution of the semen to
both uterine horns.

48. Procedure for artificial insemination
Figure #11: Improper distribution of the semen into one
horn because the insemination gun is pushed too far
forward.

49. Updated:07/20/15
Advantages of AI
• Genetic Improvement
– Wide spread use and availability of genetically
superior sires
– 1 bull can breed 500,000 cows in a lifetime
– After death, semen can be used
• Oldest frozen semen 40 - 45 years old
• Rapid proof of sire
– Progeny testing examines offspring for
desired traits
– With natural mating would only have 100’s of
offspring

50. Updated:07/20/15
Advantages of AI (cont.)
• Availability of sires
– Sires anywhere in world
• Danger of bull (male) removed
• Disease reduction
• Crossbreeding
– Can try without buying sire
• Improved management
– Start to keep records

51. Updated:07/20/15
Advantages of AI (cont.)
• Economics
– Cost of very good sire is reduced because
extend semen
– Cost to maintain sire’s reduced as don’t need
as many to breed all the females

52. Updated:07/20/15
Disadvantages
• Estrus detection must be good
• Trained inseminator
• Bull semen the best, other species not as
good
• Use of poor male may increase if not
tested well
• Technology to store cooled or frozen
semen
– Difficult to maintain

53. Updated:07/20/15
Age When Semen Can Be Collected
Bull 12 months
Boar 6 - 8 months
Ram 6 - 9 months
Stallion 20 - 24 months
Dog 8 - 12 months

54. Updated:07/20/15
Semen Collection
• Sexual arousal
– Sight, sound, smell, touch
– Best mount - Live

55. Updated:07/20/15
Collection on a Live Mount

56. Updated:07/20/15
Collection on a Live Mount

57. Updated:07/20/15
Boar Collection on a Dummy

58. Updated:07/20/15
Ram Collection on a Dummy

59. Updated:07/20/15
Preservation of Semen
• Extenders (7 components)
– Nutrients
• Glucose, fructose
– Cold shock prevention
• Milk, skim-milk, egg yolk
– Buffer
• Citrate, Tris
– Osmotic pressure
• The buffer component

60. Updated:07/20/15
Preservation of Semen (cont.)
– Inhibit bacterial growth
• antibiotics
– Increase volume
– Cryoprotectant
• glycerol

61. Updated:07/20/15
Preservation of Semen (cont.)
• Liquid Semen
– Collect semen
– Semen quality exam
– Extend 1:3 (semen:extender)
• Minimal extension rate
– Cool to 5°C over 2 hours
• OK for bull, stallion, ram
• Boar - cool to 15°C

62. Updated:07/20/15
Preservation of Semen (cont.)
– Once cooled, extend semen to final amount
• Bovine (inseminate 0.5 ml)
– 2 to 5 million sperm/ml
• Equine (inseminate 1 billion sperm)
– 25 to 50 million sperm/ml
– If don’t cool then inseminate 500 million motile sperm
• Swine (inseminate 1.5 to 6 billion sperm in 50 ml)
– 30 to 120 million sperm/ml

63. Updated:07/20/15
Preservation of Semen (cont.)
• Frozen semen
– Follow instruction for collecting and cooling
semen
– After cooling to 5°C, extend to 2X the final
concentration desired
• If want final concentration to be 40 million/ml then
dilute to 80 million to ml at this time
– Hold semen for 4 to 6 hours at 5°C
• Equilibrates semen to the cold

64. Updated:07/20/15
Preservation of Semen (cont.)
– Add the cryoprotectant
• Mix extender with 2X final cryoprotectant amount,
1:1 with extended semen
• Do this in small portions to minimize cryoprotectant
toxicity
– Package semen
• 0.5 ml French straws
• Ampules
– Freeze semen
• Liquid nitrogen vapor
– Static
– Mechanically controlled

65. Updated:07/20/15
Insemination of the Female
• Detection of estrus
– No need to review this material
• Time of insemination
– Cattle (2X daily heat detection)
• 12 hours after observed in standing heat (AM - PM
rule)
• Inseminate on the day of estrus
– Swine (2X daily heat detection)
• Sow - 24 and 36 hours after first seen in estrus
• Gilt - 12 and 24 hours after first seen in estrus

66. Updated:07/20/15
Insemination of the Cow
Rectal-Vaginal Approach

67. Updated:07/20/15
Artificial Insemination in the
Sow

68. Updated:07/20/15
Use and Success of AI
Semen
Species Liquid Frozen Preg. Rate Major Problems
Dairy Cattle OK OK 60-70 OK, need good heat
detection
Beef Cattle OK OK 55-65 Range area large:
poor heat detection
Sheep OK Fair 50-65 Large range; low value
of ewe
Swine OK Fair 40-75 Estrus detection
Horses OK Fair 30-60 Timing insemination,
breed restrictions
Turkey OK Poor 90 None
Humans OK Fair 5-30 Donors; infertility; time

69. ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION
4
THE END