DIY AI

Dozer1

Just wondering if many of you here do your own AI, as I'm a suckler farmer with cows in different places having more than one bull doesn't add up with the numbers I have.
I've handling facilities in most places so spotting them in heat would be the biggest challenge.

But my questions would be
1) Is it a difficult skill to pick up? considering I'd only be doing 25 cows the margin for error isn't in my favour, AI too early or late and that's the calving date gone another few weeks.

2) Cost, apart from the cost of straws what else would u need

3) Is it worthwhile, Like other posters here BB seems to be where the export money is at, I can't see my way to pay 4000 plus for a quality BB bull. if I could AI the cows instead selecting bulls for each cow then was thinking it might be a better investment.

I already AI the early calvers while they're in the shed but working full time means when i get home to get them in its too late in the evening for my local AI man to call.

leg wax

if a cow is bulling in the morning i ai her in the evening, if bulling in evening i ai her the following morning, when you do the ai training you get a flask and all the gear as part of the package, to top up flask every year with liquid nitrogen cost me 180 euros, cost of straws depends on what bull you use.

jfh

hi legwax,
is there much into the training course?

leg wax

jfh wrote: »

hi legwax,
is there much into the training course?

no first we were shown the reproductive parts of a dead heifer [cut out of her] and shown where we were to put the sperm ,they opened it all up so we could see where we were trying to get the ai gun into basically. then it was off to the lairage to practise on the poor cows before they were slaugtered, i think we did 3 days at that and then up to dovea to look under microscope at sperm.hope that helps.

vanderbadger

it sounded good till you mentioned the lairage part, jeez dont know if i like to set food inside those factories

whelan1

i did the course but there wheren't enough cows going through the factory so we didnt get enough practice and where all meant to go back when it was busier , i never did:rolleyes:

jfh

thanks legwax, think i'll put it off for now..!

pajero12

leg wax wrote: »

if a cow is bulling in the morning i ai her in the evening, if bulling in evening i ai her the following morning, when you do the ai training you get a flask and all the gear as part of the package, to top up flask every year with liquid nitrogen cost me 180 euros, cost of straws depends on what bull you use.

That's the same way we do them!!Have had great success so far!! Also very interesting to see the internals of the cow!! We practised with straws full of blue dye! Once they killed the cow,they showed us the uterus and we knew by the colour whether we did the job!:D
Definately worth it!

tismesoitis

did the ai course back in 1994 straight after i came back from work placement in holland where the farmer i was staying with recomended that i do it. have to say extreemly good advice have ai'd somewhere between 50 and 80 cows and heifers every year since. it all adds up to serious savings. did the course through progressive in kildare chilling and they supplied all the gear. just a note the flasks have a life span we had to get new one last year as liquid nitrogen level was starting to drop too low for comfort.

theroad

Did the training course this spring with Munster AI, I think other places probably do it better. We practiced on cows at the mart just before they were shipped to the factory, so there was no feedback. The course cost €500. The gear costs another €600. Plus straws onto that. Plus a yearly charge to keep the flask filled with nitrogen. I was told it doesn't pay unless you're doing more than 70 cows per year. The actual AI was fine, a bit nerve-wracking at first. It's all about getting the knack and having a bit of confidence, which comes with practice.

irishh_bob

Dozer1 wrote: »

Just wondering if many of you here do your own AI, as I'm a suckler farmer with cows in different places having more than one bull doesn't add up with the numbers I have.
I've handling facilities in most places so spotting them in heat would be the biggest challenge.

But my questions would be
1) Is it a difficult skill to pick up? considering I'd only be doing 25 cows the margin for error isn't in my favour, AI too early or late and that's the calving date gone another few weeks.

2) Cost, apart from the cost of straws what else would u need

3) Is it worthwhile, Like other posters here BB seems to be where the export money is at, I can't see my way to pay 4000 plus for a quality BB bull. if I could AI the cows instead selecting bulls for each cow then was thinking it might be a better investment.

I already AI the early calvers while they're in the shed but working full time means when i get home to get them in its too late in the evening for my local AI man to call.

unless you have a fairly large number of cows , DIY ai doesnt work that well IMO , you simply dont get enough practice , it becomes more expensive than getting in the AI company if you find your getting a lot of repeats

dar31

i was thinking of doing the course this autumn in time for serving at xmas.
how many cows would you need to do to be any way good.
only have a 8 week service at xmas, at week one it would be my first run and assuming my conception rates got better as the weeks progressed, what would the % conception be like in week one. iykwim

tismesoitis

irishh_bob wrote: »

unless you have a fairly large number of cows , DIY ai doesnt work that well IMO , you simply dont get enough practice , it becomes more expensive than getting in the AI company if you find your getting a lot of repeats

think i have to agree maybe 25 is not enough cows to justify doing the course probably need at least 40 IMO

Dozer1

Thanks for the feedback all very constructive unlike some other threads...., sounds like an interesting course but like everything else it depends on the training provided.
Like alot of other suckler farmers its when we see the prices paid for the better quality weanlings in the Autumn that we think about the AI route. Stock bull probably safe for another year now:D

Pacoa

I used to work for eurogene. I paid for the training and they provided the equipment but i was expected to do a certain amount of cows. Was doing 500 inseminations a year.
You work full time (yes?) so this probably isn't an option for you but if there is a eurogene inseminator working near you you could arrange with him to inseminate the cows for ya, they're usually flexable (well i was).

LostCovey

vanderbadger wrote: »

it sounded good till you mentioned the lairage part, jeez dont know if i like to set food inside those factories

A Freudian slip.

I don't know if I want to eat FOOD from those factories!

LC

LostCovey

Two neighbours of mine with small suckler herds did a lot of research on DIY AI. They were both dead set on doing it, then they looked at the cost of the course. And the flasks. And the straws. And topping up the liquid nitrogen every year. And straws for repeats.

They sat up late one night doing the figures.

They bought a bull between them and went on the p1$$ in Galway for a week!

LC

reilig

I agree. It would be money far better spent to go to galway on the beer. Come to think of it, the races are on next week. So it could be time to loosen out that money that you had put aside for the DIY AI Course and "let yourself go"

LostCovey wrote: »

Two neighbours of mine with small suckler herds did a lot of research on DIY AI. They were both dead set on doing it, then they looked at the cost of the course. And the flasks. And the straws. And topping up the liquid nitrogen every year. And straws for repeats.

They sat up late one night doing the figures.

They bought a bull between them and went on the p1$$ in Galway for a week!

LC

pakalasa

....and don't forget the credit cards.:D

bogman_bass

tismesoitis wrote: »

think i have to agree maybe 25 is not enough cows to justify doing the course probably need at least 40 IMO

+1