AI trouble *face palm*

Help Support CattleToday:

RisingCreekHerefords

Active member
Joined
Jan 9, 2016
Messages
33
Reaction score
0
Location
Dent Co Missouri
I went to the Cattle Visions AI school in November and became certified. I wasn't very confident in my abilities but I at least had the anatomy and the gist of what I was supposed to do. I figured I could do it, it would just take me longer than expected.

Fast forward to this morning, I had 5 reg. Hereford heifers to breed. I could NOT get the first straw to cut RIGHT from the start so one straw wasted. Got through the first heifer, moved on...well the third heifer LAID down on me. Then, the fifth heifer went perfectly...until the straw of semen would not eject all the way when the plunger was pushed. The sheath had come loose. I'm also not 100% certain I got any of them completely through the cervix. :bang:

I just feel like a total failure and that I am completely unable to do this. I guess i'm not smart enough to AI. :frowns: Anyone else been where I am?
 
When first starting out on your own, one of the hardest things to overcome is self doubt. Stick with it and try to be careful with each step and you'll get the hang of it.
 
went to the same school last spring, no problems just lay out everything and practice the setup get use to it all
 
Any tips for how I can get more practice would be helpful. I don't have many cows to breed and everyone I have talked with don't really want me to AI theirs at cost or sharing the cost.
 
always have people hat need it done find someone who sells semen and is a tech sure they would let you help
 
I suppose some take to it like a duck to water. I didn't, everything is easier in the classroom there. Took me at least a year and maybe 2 before the light came on.
If you use a cutter on those straws sometimes that little tip will bend over making it tough to feed it into the cutter, you don't have to fly through that step just keep it wraped good in a paper towel.

If you have one that wants to lay down, put a bar behind her and don't catch her head.

If your using twist lock sheath just make sure its twisted on there good again no need for hurry here. If your using O ring im not much help I don't use them, just not what I learned with.

If you have that cervix in your hand, insert the rod and just look out over the pasture or whatever, don't over think it. When that rod goes into the cervix it will slide, need to move it around going through each ring and feel the tip after it passes. Just have to stay with it, that light will come on.
 
Same for me when I started and I'd done a two-week hands-on/in course. I could do it with my eyes closed ;) at the class, but when I went to do it for the first time for real, I was lost. A hot cow was so different somehow from those cull cows we'd practised on.

I got it, eventually. Now I can do it after two or three years break and only a few cows in each year. It is as others have said, as much about confidence as anything. If you really want to do it, stay with it.
 
Don't despair you will get another chance in 3 weeks. I think you put too much pressure on yourself by lining up 5 heifers to do in the 1st batch. An old cow or two would have been ideal to give a try out of your equipment and preparation area so having that all sorted you can then just concentrate on the insemination. Go back and read your notes, look at some YouTube videos and you will pick up a lot of finer points that you missed the first time. Remember the actual insemination process is in two stages, the first is taking the rod up to the cervix the second is then using the other hand and working the cervix over the top of the rod. When you are anxious and rushing the tendency is to try and push the rod through, I know, I have been there.
I think being well organised and confident in your preparation takes a lot of anxiousness out of the equation. Put patches on or paint their tails and get ready or any that return on heat, you might be surprised you might have nailed 1 or 2. I think it was Regolith that said she only has to show heifers the semen container and they get pregnant. Best of luck, just don't give up.
Ken
 
Don't know that I said that, certainly did get 100% on the first few heifers I did and they seem to get in calf easily whether you get all the way through the cervix or not. Then I encountered one that got 3 cycles AI, 3 cycles with the bull, then sold her open to someone who wanted to give her some more chances.

After training, I'd done 50 cows before I felt like I knew what I was doing (probably 7 - 10 days in my herd) and then panicked because hardly any of them returned... no need for panic, they didn't return because they were in-calf.

With experience you'll double-check the name of the bull on every straw after it's defrosted, snip quickly with scissors (not a cutter, they taught is in training to wipe the scissors between straws but you can't wipe the wandering sperm off a cutter), and double check every time that the sheath is secure because there's nothing more frustrating than the whole sheath moving when you're ready to empty the straw.
Get the routine right, drop the semen in approximately the right place and it's all good.
"o" ring is what I'm using, you just double check that the sheath is all the way on and the ring jammed down as far as it'll go. It's not usually a disaster if the sheath does come loose and you realise it, just a nuisance because you then have to hold it back or fix it to empty the straw.
 
I sure hope you guys are right. I have a young bull that I will be using for clean up, but I may break down and try to AI any that come in again. If I even get one bred that will make me feel so much better about things. It also didn't help that it was pouring rain and then snowing on me the whole time. :( I also felt like a few of them weren't in heat like they should have been. They were all synced the same way with the same protocol but a few of them felt really open while others it was impossible (or felt like it) to get through their cervix. The tips you guys are giving me VERY much are helping. I also love hearing i'm not the only one that has been here. Keep the horror stories coming lol.

I also have a couple cows that should be coming into heat and i'm going to try to AI them. I'm trying to catch them in heat though so we will see if that that actually happens lol.
 
The most important thing is to not let minor setbacks/problems unduly bother you. You're still learning, I've been at it for more years then a lot of people on htese boards have been alive and I still learn new things. Just develop a routine and be patient, it will get easier as you go along.
 
wbvs58":38uwy6s2 said:
I think it was Regolith that said she only has to show heifers the semen container and they get pregnant. Best of luck, just don't give up.
Ken
The one I remember is BrangusCowgirl saying she just had to show one of her old cows the AI gun for her to take.. There may have been other similar quotes out there too
 
Nesikep":28bq5fc1 said:
wbvs58":28bq5fc1 said:
I think it was Regolith that said she only has to show heifers the semen container and they get pregnant. Best of luck, just don't give up.
Ken
The one I remember is BrangusCowgirl saying she just had to show one of her old cows the AI gun for her to take.. There may have been other similar quotes out there too
With Granny I used to claim that all I had to do was tell her I was going to get the semen and she would settle.
 
Nesikep":28usngit said:
wbvs58":28usngit said:
I think it was Regolith that said she only has to show heifers the semen container and they get pregnant. Best of luck, just don't give up.
Ken
The one I remember is BrangusCowgirl saying she just had to show one of her old cows the AI gun for her to take.. There may have been other similar quotes out there too
Nope, it was Regolith something like all she had to do was show the heifers the can, haha don't matter, good quote anyhow.

Back to the topic at hand, there are two variables with getting conceptions, getting the semen in the right place and the correct timing of the cow and until you get the protocol that best suits you the timing of the cow can be the weak link. This is where heat detection comes in and if you catch them it is usually one at a time and a lot more certainty in my opinion. If you have synched some then you are heads up knowing when to expect them back in if you did miss them.
Ken
 
wbvs58":20ntfzho said:
Nesikep":20ntfzho said:
wbvs58":20ntfzho said:
I think it was Regolith that said she only has to show heifers the semen container and they get pregnant. Best of luck, just don't give up.
Ken
The one I remember is BrangusCowgirl saying she just had to show one of her old cows the AI gun for her to take.. There may have been other similar quotes out there too
Nope, it was Regolith something like all she had to do was show the heifers the can, haha don't matter, good quote anyhow.

Back to the topic at hand, there are two variables with getting conceptions, getting the semen in the right place and the correct timing of the cow and until you get the protocol that best suits you the timing of the cow can be the weak link. This is where heat detection comes in and if you catch them it is usually one at a time and a lot more certainty in my opinion. If you have synched some then you are heads up knowing when to expect them back in if you did miss them.
Ken

Those 2 are great, but there is one more that you failed to mention. NUTRITION. Nutrition is both feed AND minerals. If they are thin or deficient in minerals, they can be difficult to get settled.
 
I felt the same way you did when I first started AI'ing. It will come. I suggest you dont start with a synced group, too much pressure on you. A older calm cow on a good natural heat will get your confidence in my opinion. Some will say heifers are easiest to do, some say cows. I think Once you get the hang of it, heifers are easier, but at first they may be harder, sometimes for the fact of just trying to find/feel their tiny cervixs.
Jenna
 
I went to the same school a couple of years ago and I live in the western part of Dent Co. I have used timed AI the past 2 springs. I do around 30 of my own. I was afraid to get in over my head the first spring, so I broke them up into groups of 5. 5 on Saturday and then again on Sunday. Repeated each weekend until complete. I ended up with 64% bred. I called Carl the day before I got started with questions. He was helpful and had me call him back after the first bunch. So you might want to call him. This past spring I did 2 groups of 15 and only got half of them bred. I had plenty of time and was organized, but I think the meds might have been a problem. I had cows in heat about 9 to 24 hours after I inseminated them. I think I have figured out who you are. You can PM me if you want I might be able to help you some.
 
Greatgerts, I don't think there will be any issue there. They are in good condition with good feed/hay and fresh water daily. Also, they have a constant supply of good mineral. My girls are in good shape! I ordered some more semen to catch them again as they come back into heat instead of turning them out with my clean up bull. He will catch them after the next round.

Question, From the time you take the semen from the thaw bath and get it into the cow, how long do you take? I thought it was pretty much as fast as you could get it there. Am I rushing it too much by doing that? I mean I know you can't really dally around but maybe i'm rushing myself?
 
I thought that was the maximum to leave the semen in the thaw bath. I am talking about from the bath, to the gun, sheathed, and in the cow.

Jenna, I didn't have much trouble locating the cervix but I was amazed at how much smaller they were! So getting through it was a different story.

KR I may be doing that. You know who I am?! That's a first lol. I noticed a couple of the heifers still kind of smelling each other yesterday and today, but no riding or anything like that. So we will see I guess. Fingers crossed.
 

Latest posts

Top