AI - A new question!

[MistyMorning]

Hi all and hoped to grab all you guys that have answered a million ai questions. Now I have searched this board for an answer and it doesnt appear that its been asked before. That said here goes.

Thinking now, just thinking about getting trained for this. Heres the problem as I see it. I am not a large woman and I had shoulder surgery last year on my right(dominate shoulder). Have finally come around from that, but don't want any stress putting me back on square one again. Is ai altogether more physical than the regular stuff I do now(vacinations, calving stuff, etc. you know the drill). There are not a lot of folks around who do this so it may be something lucrative?

I really want some input from those of you that do it or have done it. Good or bad doesn't matter or I wouldn't have asked.

HAve a great evening

 

[Northern Rancher]

It depends on how many you plan on doing-if your planning on doing 200 a day of synchronized heifers it can pretty demanding. Doing a few of your own it's probably not too bad a deal-it's your least dominant arm that's inside the cow anyway. There's some pretty simple exercises you can do to get your arm and wrist in shape-probably the ones you did while rehabbing your shoulder. I A'I 1-2000 head a year with a ruined back-not ruined from A'I'ing lol.

 

[ollie?]

Your dominate arm won't be in the cow. It works the plunger outside and guides the A.I. gun.

 

[KMacGinley]

Ya. you are good to go unless your left gives out.

 

[Double A]

It is going to depend upon how you are most comfortable doing A.I. - one arm is used for the gun and the other rectal palpation. My husband does all of our A.I. work and even though in great shape, can get tired. To him what makes it most challenging is the strength needed for your "rectal" arm - as the cow will often try and squeeze you out. Sometimes having a smaller arm in this respect may help - as the cow may not be able to squeeze as hard if this makes any sense. He had some gals in his A.I. class and the instructor commented on this too that sometimes smaller build people can actually be at an advantage. It will also depend upon how cooperative the animal is going to be and the type of restraint and protection you have - if the cow can fidget and move a lot you may run a higher risk of possibly re-injuring your shoulder if you use that one for palpation.

Good Luck. You can always take the class and get to practice on a couple and you will probably have a better idea how it is going to work out for you.

 

[dun]

Your dominate arm won't be in the cow. It works the plunger outside and guides the A.I. gun.

Typically you teach your non-diminate hand to palpate the cervix. It's easier to teach that hand new things, that's why it's done that way. As long as you can raise your domnant arm to shoulder height you're good to go. It's nowhere near as physical is pulling a calf. You probably won;t be able to make any money at it, depending on the area you're in. But the knowledge you recieve is worth the price of admission.
It took almost a year following my shoulder surgery to be bale to use my right arm to hold the gun and pass it. With the orthoscopic (sp) there shouldn;t be near as long of a recovery time. Mine was pretty much a complete rebuild job, being that extensive it took a lot longer to heal then even the open shoulder type of surgery.

 

[MistyMorning]

Thanks all, good information for me to mull over. Hey Dun I may need your surgeon if I ever need another shoulder job. 1 year after what your surgery was is great recovery.

Have a great day all

 

[dun]

Thanks all, good information for me to mull over. Hey Dun I may need your surgeon if I ever need another shoulder job. 1 year after what your surgery was is great recovery.

Have a great day all

The bad part was that I was still taking pain meds for 3 years. I finally gave up and went to a back cracker and he did an acuprssure deal that eliminated the pain. Hasn;t worked on the other shoulder that also needs srugery though

 

[MistyMorning]

[

The bad part was that I was still taking pain meds for 3 years. I finally gave up and went to a back cracker and he did an acuprssure deal that eliminated the pain. Hasn;t worked on the other shoulder that also needs srugery though

After surgery, i got a frozen shoulder and tendinosis. 3 times a week physical therapy plus what i was doing at home. Finally quit doing it all and rested the darn thing and it finally got better. Not so sure I trust the experts anymore!

 

[Alan]

Just to throw in my two cents, I agree witht he above posts. As far as physical goes, I'm a big guy with pretty bigs arms, my biggest problem is my rectal arm. The cow can squeeze it's rectum so hard it becomes very dificult to maintain the strength to AI many cows if you are not use to it. As a newbie to AI, I'm probably in the rectum way to long trying to pass the gun through the cervex. I think someone with smaller arms would have better luck and less pain.

Alan

 

[TexasBred]

And....for whatever it's worth when you first learn to AI you WILL get tied quickly. You'll be nervous, unsure and excited. As time goes on you will learn to relax and this will help quiet a bit. But nothing worse than an ol' cow biting down on your arm and numbing it for the rest of the day. Best of luck.