Ai in sheep

[pgkane]

Looking at ai ing some sheep this year.
So wondering what are the rough costs?
Process of it?
Success rates?
Companies/vets that would do it?

Cheers

 

[andybk]

one of the best ai vets around is ian mcdougall , he sets the standard , farmgene ltd shrewsbury www.farmgene.com (07813 010386)
why do you want to use AI , and not natural service ?,

 

[pgkane]

Cheers how far do they travel?
It's so I can get the genetics that I want that I can't afford

 

[andybk]

ian travels all over the world ,prob the best sheep ai vet there is ,has a van with all the kit , many of the top flocks use him ,

 

[woodfield]

AB Europe in Malvern were recommended to me when I made enquiries about this a while back: http://www.abreeds.co.uk/index.php/services/breeding-sheep/artificial-insemination-ai/

 

[Ysgythan]

one of the best ai vets around is ian mcdougall , he sets the standard , farmgene ltd shrewsbury www.farmgene.com (07813 010386)
why do you want to use AI , and not natural service ?,

I'd second that.

 

[neilo]

I would recommend either Farmgene or AB Europe. Either will get similarly good results with AI at broadly similar prices IME. Whether there's enough work for both to operate in England & Wales, is a different question though, and there might not be the choice in another year or so.

 

[Ysgythan]

Of course there is. Don't forget Celtic in Aberystwyth as well. They're doing more for more people year on year.

 

[PFH]

Roughly what sort of cost is it to A.I a sheep?

If you bought a top notch maternal ram could you sponge say 2 or 300 of your best ewes and A.I them to him?

 

[MJT]

Roughly what sort of cost is it to A.I a sheep?

If you bought a top notch maternal ram could you sponge say 2 or 300 of your best ewes and A.I them to him?

Dan Fawcett quotes £7 a ewe to AInif over 100 ewes to be done . Sponges and Semen etc on top of that obviously .

 

[neilo]

Roughly what sort of cost is it to A.I a sheep?

If you bought a top notch maternal ram could you sponge say 2 or 300 of your best ewes and A.I them to him?

In theory, yes. However, without a backup plan (semen/other rams) you'd be relying on one ram being 100% fertile on that one day, and happy to jump several times.

How would you identify that 'top notch' ram if you were purchasing him, ie: not got any history of using him. I'm an advocate of recording & ebvs, which I may have mentioned before, but I sure as hell wouldn't just rely on them to pick a ram to put on that many ewes in one go, unless it was 2-300 out of a flock of 2-3000 perhaps. I'd want him to have proven himself first.

 

[gwi1890]

Roughly what sort of cost is it to A.I a sheep?

If you bought a top notch maternal ram could you sponge say 2 or 300 of your best ewes and A.I them to him?

Honestly you would be better off tupping a 100 or so ewes to him, And see what kind of lambs he throws, Im going to e.t 3 of my older ewes (texel) and a gimmer I bought this year to my new tup next year , I'd rather see how he clicks with them first before throwing money at the job .the bugger cost me enough already

 

[johnflimston]

If using fresh semen ie, collecting it yourself , you'd be better off without the sponges.
I did it years ago, when I was younger !!!
Use teasers to bring ewes into season then raddle teasers and pick marked ewes out daily or twice daily, collect semen, dilute and inseminate said ewes.
It's not rocket science, just needs good organisation, good handling facilities and attention to detail oh, and a bit of practice.

 

[gwi1890]

If using fresh semen ie, collecting it yourself , you'd be better off without the sponges.
I did it years ago, when I was younger !!!
Use teasers to bring ewes into season then raddle teasers and pick marked ewes out daily or twice daily, collect semen, dilute and inseminate said ewes.
It's not rocket science, just needs good organisation, good handling facilities and attention to detail oh, and a bit of practice.

And did they hold 1st cycle? Sounds like alot of work, typical rates on using fresh semen with laparoscopic a.i , wich is much more successful than cervical is 70%

 

[johnflimston]

And did they hold 1st cycle? Sounds like alot of work, typical rates on using fresh semen with laparoscopic a.i , wich is much more successful than cervical is 70%

About 60% IIRC, long time ago.
It was hard work but the cost was minimal, I did buy an AI crate which isn't strictly necessary but we still have it.
The rest of the equipment is pennies and no sponges or vets to pay for.

 

[neilo]

And did they hold 1st cycle? Sounds like alot of work, typical rates on using fresh semen with laparoscopic a.i , wich is much more successful than cervical is 70%

I would expect much higher than that for laroscopic AI using fresh semen, with sponged ewes that had all TE's covered correctly.
When I did cervicalAI with fresh semenand sponged ewes, I struggled to get much better tan 50%, the main reason I stopped doing it.

 

[unlacedgecko]

I assisted with some laroscopic AI last year. The provider was AB Europe, and the actual vet South African. He was very interesting to talk to.

Apparently, "back home" it is not uncommon to AI 800+ females (sheep or goats) to one top performing male over the course of 48hrs. Imagine the logistics of lambing that lot!

 

[neilo]

I assisted with some laroscopic AI last year. The provider was AB Europe, and the actual vet South African. He was very interesting to talk to.

Apparently, "back home" it is not uncommon to AI 800+ females (sheep or goats) to one top performing male over the course of 48hrs. Imagine the logistics of lambing that lot!

Indeed. An important part of the program is being prepared to lamb 80-90% of those 2-300 to one due date.
I usually have around 100 pedigree early lambers, all due to one (sponged) date. I normally have 40-50 lambing pens, along with several mothering pens ready and things still get a bit tight for a night or so.

 

[Ysgythan]

Indeed. An important part of the program is being prepared to lamb 80-90% of those 2-300 to one due date.
I usually have around 100 pedigree early lambers, all due to one (sponged) date. I normally have 40-50 lambing pens, along with several mothering pens ready and things still get a bit tight for a night or so.

Peak hurdle day.