? about seman
- Thread starter tb
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If the collection facility is a CSS approved lab, or for that matter, a lab with any integrity then any semen that passes QC standards will work equally well in a flush as in an AI situation.
Semen is very important to the success of a flush or an AI breeding, but so is semen handling and storage, thawing, cleanliness, AI technique, uterine environment, heat detection, cow nutrition, management after AI, and on and on.
A flaw in ANY of those variable can lead to a less than desirable result. Semen gets blamed too often I think.
Semen is very important to the success of a flush or an AI breeding, but so is semen handling and storage, thawing, cleanliness, AI technique, uterine environment, heat detection, cow nutrition, management after AI, and on and on.
A flaw in ANY of those variable can lead to a less than desirable result. Semen gets blamed too often I think.
Jill
Well-known member
My tech once told me if you wouldn't flush with it why on earth would you AI with it, it is either good on it is not.
Bulldaddy
Well-known member
Semen quality can vary significantly depending on who is doing the collecting, testing and freezing. If high quality standards are adheared to then the semen should be good enough to flush with or AI a single cow. Flush quality just means high quality and like Jill says why use anything less?
Which brings up an interesting point. On this board and everywhere else on the net, certain bull studs seem to get a bad rap from time to time. I think this is almost always undeserved. Most (if not all) bull studs will not freeze semen at less than 30 mil concentration per straw. They also do a shock test and test the thawed semen at different intervals after thawing to make sure it remains viable for a long period of time. I would venture to guess that if there is any bad semen out there it is almost always because the semen has been mishandled after it left the bull stud. I cannot imagine any bull stud freezing semen that does not meet industry standards. I could be all wet but why would any bull stud freeze inferior quality semen? That would be the quickest way to exit the business.
BJN said:
I agree with you, but concentration is not neccesarily the main issue. Many dairy bulls have proven to be more fertile when packaged at 15-25 million. In beef cattle you can't get good (stistically useable) conception data, so most bulls are put up at 30 million or higher just to be safe. By the way, higher isn't always better there's proof that higher numbers can cause a toxic environment making the sperm cells less viable. Like with most things, there's a good happy medium.
hntwhitetail
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I was just wondering what most bull stud's extend their semen to. Do most keep a standard, or do they change to what the owner of the bull requests? Found an article that most will not pack a straw with less than 20mil's, so that would be 10mils in the straw if you consider better than 50% motility after the thaw.
hntwhitetail
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I saw an ad of an angus breeder selling semen in straws "40 for $40" every straw he guaranteed had 40mil cells in it. Would this be overkill? I remember reading an article that their is not much benefit of semen w/ over a 20mil count. If you are actually getting 20mils that is.
Freddy
Well-known member
THE HIGH AMOUNT of semen ,sounds like putting to many bulls in pasture which usually is a disaster ... I think club calf producers are doing a lot better job of producing an marketing semen... From my experience collecting and buying semen it is a good practice to stay away from young yearling bulls ,an this is even with my home raised bulls ....These young bulls are not maturing like they use to because of more size and growth rate ..!!
