How many days can semen be in a shipper and still be good?

[Katpau]

How many days is a semen shipper tank good? I ordered a bunch of semen for myself and three others and I asked that they mail it on a Monday. I was ordering from ABS in Wisconsin and I knew it would be 5 days or so by truck or rail and I did not want the tank setting over the weekend during a heat wave. I called ABS after putting my order together online that same day and asked them to add a few more straws and to make sure not to mail it out until the following Monday. I explained that I did not want it held up over a weekend. The person on the phone assured me that it would be mailed Monday.

When I did not get confirmation by email of the added straws, I called to check and I was told they were added, but the shipment was sent out on Tuesday. It arrived in Portland by train at midnight last night, and is headed south now. I called UPS in town yesterday and asked that they call me as soon as it arrives and I would pick it up. They will not be open until Monday. It will be 6+ days in the tank by then. Will the semen still be good?

 

[farmerjan]

If there is still nitrogen in the tank, it will be fine...
Why was it not sent air freight? 2-3 days max....
If the semen is not good, that is on the shipper... I assume you had them insure it?
These companies do this all the time... they should be well versed in shipping, time needed and all that.

 

[farmerjan]

Another thing... do you get semen and nitrogen refills from someone local? Have the semen shipped to that company/representative... it might take longer to get it if it is picked up or sent to the rep on a regular monthly semen run... but it will be guaranteed good. I have had semen shipped to the local guy that services my tank... and he puts it in my tank when he comes... sometimes has taken 2 months before he gets it from the "home office" pickup or something...
Talk to your local distributor to see if that is an option. ABS should be able to have it available to someone closer to you rather than ship it like that.

 

[Katpau]

Thanks Jan
Too late for sending it to the guy that fills my tank. He is 100 miles away, but he comes by every three months so it may have been an option. There are no ABS reps in Oregon anymore. They let the last of them go this summer. In the past I ordered semen through them, but when I called to do so, my guy informed me ABS no longer had any reps in Oregon, so the closest would be more than 8 hours away. I had no idea I had to ask about insurance. I just assumed that was on ABS, but maybe I am wrong.

I had it sent ground, because I did not need it until spring and it was much cheaper. I asked the ABS person on the phone if I needed to go air for my location, and she assured me there was no need. I sure hope she is right.

The man who does my breeding said the last time he had semen delivered in a shipper, there was no nitrogen but some other source of cold.

 

[Katpau]

I was able to reach my old ABS rep. He tells me those thanks are usually good for close to two weeks. What a relief!

 

[farmerjan]

Yeah, they do not use liquid nitrogen anymore but something else... and the one time I got some shipped it was about a week and they do say they should last 10 days to 2 weeks. If there is still the misty vapor when you open the top it should be good.
Ask the guy who does your breeding if he carries any with him or does he only breed out of the owners tanks? He might do semen pickup somewhere and could be a better place to have it sent... sometimes I think these companies do not care enough about the littler clients.. like sending it on a tuesday when you SPECIFICALLY asked to have it shipped on a monday.

 

[Katpau]

The guy that does my breeding is in his mid eighties and he doesn't order much semen any more. He works out of owners tanks, but has a few show bulls and older bulls in his own tank. I did not want to inconvenience him, and thought I could handle it. He did offer to transport the semen between the shipper and my tank, so I could learn how to do it. I plan to bring them to his place for that. He tells me it is a simple process, but I was nervous, since most of the semen is not mine, and none of the others will be available on Monday to pick it up.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

They use nitrogen, but the tanks are built with some type of "sponge" material inside. They put liquid nitrogen in it and it obsorbs the liquid, so that nothing can be SPILLED if the handler tips the tank over.
When you get it, open it in front of the transport person. If there is no vapor, it is not frozen.
But, they usually hold long enough.
Let us know how you make out.

 

[Redgully]

They refer to them as dry shippers here. As Jeanne says they use nitrogen, but it is absorbed into a porous lining so it can't spill out. They have very low evaporation rates but obviously can't hold a lot of nitrogen. There are different sizes that last different lengths of time. My nitrogen guy was telling me he hates filling those things as they take a long time. I could be wrong, but im sure he said they can take about a day to absorb and get down to the correct temperature.

 

[elkwc]

Two years ago I ordered semen from a service. It was supposedly shipped on a Monday. I called on a Thursday I think and stated it hadn't arrived. On Friday was notified it was sitting somewhere. My understanding was they would ship a new shipment on the following Monday. But on that Monday a shipper arrived. So feel it was the original shipper. My tech said if there was vapors it should be good. There was very faint vapors. Didn't get one calf sired by the semen in that shipper. Feel now it was likely bad. Will never accept a shipper again that has been in transit that long.

 

[Katpau]

I thought I had posted when the semen actually arrived, but I guess I must have forgotten to hit "Post Reply". I do that with emails too. I think I have responded, only to later find it in drafts.

I picked the semen up on Monday, and everything went smoothly. The tank showed vapor when we opened it and I transferred it all to my tank. The semen I ordered for others has now been picked up and and transferred to their tanks. Ordering with others worked great. We got shipping down to 41 cents per straw.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

We (NY Simmental Assn) purchase semen together as a group. Generally, it's about $0.10/straw. No matter what company your semen comes from, EVERYONE shares the shipping costs. We also get volume discounts. I'm a "rep" for Cattle Visions, ABS, Gx, and Select Sire. I have beef producers that are members so that they can be part of this bulk purchase. Just do it in March each year.

 

[farmerjan]

Glad it got there in good shape and all got transferred to everyone's tanks...