Artificial Insemination Essay

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Artificial Insemination plays a key role in the overall quality of livestock. By tracking the development of AI the reader will gain the understanding of the genetic advancement made possible by artificial insemination giving us higher conception rates, more sire selection, ease of calving, and history and future of AI. AI continues to advance the genetic make-up of domesticated livestock. One may also talk about embryo transfer, ampules of semen vs. straws of semen (today's use), and Donor cow/super ovulation of cows. With completing the Artificial Insemination Training class, one is able to get the hands on training necessary to breed cows effectively and get the highest conception rate made possible by the help of a certified AI technician.
Conception rate is the percentage of months or treatment cycles that result in a pregnancy. The quality of bull semen grows greater with advancements in technology. Conception rate is vitally important when it comes to artificially inseminating livestock. “Heat detection efficiency (rate) is defined as the percentage of eligible cows that are actually seen or detected in heat” (Oklahoma State University 3164-2). Conception rate is huge when it comes to the success of your breeding, so you must be sure the cow is in the right stage of the estrus cycle to give you the highest conception rate possible for that specific cow, as well as the herd. The estrus cycle of a cow is a series of events and hormonal changes that repeat about every twenty-one days; however, this can vary from eighteen to twenty-four days cows that are not pregnant. The first event occurs on day zero, when a follicle or a fluid-filled blister-like membrane produces estrogen which initiates heat behavior to begin the estru...

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...ve manor for breeders worldwide” (Bob Grass). “Artificial Insemination is often used in animals to multiply possible offspring of prized animals” (Columbian Electronic Encyclopedia-1).“Supervised instruction and guidance of semen handling and placement are essential because without adequate training, valuable AI equipment, and semen, could be seriously damaged” (Oklahoma State University-1). The First use of semen was in ampules (a small bottle of semen), now days the use of straws of semen makes them much easier to handle. Straws come in two different sizes, quarter cc and half cc which refers to the amount of semen in the straw. Spallanzani was the first person to use AI (1784) in a dog. Some AI work, had been used in the early 1900’s in Denmark, mostly with horses. Using frozen semen, AI was first utilized in dairy cattle in the United States around 1950.

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