Livestock breeding complexes artificially collect bull sperm to restore and increase offspring. This approach makes it possible to obtain high-quality offspring, and the ejaculate of one donor is enough to fertilize several females. With the right freezing technology, seminal fluid can be stored from 1 day to several years.
Pros and cons of artificial semen collection
Livestock breeders are increasingly collecting their own sperm, citing the fact that artificial insemination of cattle has a number of advantages.
Pros of the procedure:
- one portion of sperm is enough to inseminate several females;
- the herd population is constantly updated, and there is no need to purchase new stud bulls;
- For artificial insemination, pure sperm is used, which will not become a source of the spread of sexually transmitted infections;
- ejaculate is collected only from the best donors, which significantly improves the breeding composition of the herd;
- Thanks to the seminal fluid bank, it is possible to plan the organized simultaneous appearance of the offspring. This makes it much more convenient to care for young animals.
There are some disadvantages to this method of semen collection, but they are minor: you need to equip the room, and during the work you will need the help of a qualified specialist.
How to take sperm from bulls
Before proceeding with the collection of ejaculate, special procedures are carried out in relation to the bull. Knowing the nature of the donor, the livestock breeder chooses the method of bringing him to the pen. The collection is carried out only after preparatory manipulations.
Preparing the animal
Immediately before the procedure, the donor takes a shower. It is cleaned, washed with baby soap and warm water, the temperature of which should be within +18...20˚С. Seminal fluid is collected no earlier than an hour after the last meal.
To ensure that the bulls’ sexual reflex awakens and the collection of ejaculate occurs without problems, they are led in a circle in a row.
At the same time, make sure that the producer walking behind does not touch the skin of another animal with his penis. Having brought the bull to maximum erection, he is brought into the pen, previously irradiated with fluorescent lamps.
The process itself
For cage use a dummy animal or dummy.Algorithm of actions:
- The livestock technician puts on gloves, after which he is given an artificial vaginal organ, which must be installed at an angle of 30-35˚.
- When the donor climbs onto the machine, the penis is taken by the foreskin and carefully inserted into the vaginal funnel.
- After the push, the ejaculation occurs, the artificial organ is removed, and it is sent to the laboratory.
Between visits to collect the testicles, the bull is walked for 15-20 minutes. To prevent the donor from developing an inhibitory reflex, you need to change the location of the procedure and the mannequin.
How to evaluate quality?
The resulting ejaculate is examined for the presence of live sperm. The best option is 1 billion units per 1 ml, with at least 90% of them performing rectilinear translational movements.
Volume
The nominal normal volume of sperm is 4-5 ml. If a bull produces less seed at a time, it is necessary to reconsider its diet and housing conditions, and not attribute everything to impaired reflexes during ejaculation.
Color
Research is carried out in a well-lit room. High-quality sperm should be white with a yellow tint. If the seminal fluid has pink or red specks, blood has entered the ejaculate. A yellow tint indicates that urine has penetrated; green indicates purulent discharge.
Consistency
The seed is of normal consistency, homogeneous, and resembles cream in thickness. If impurities or flakes are found in the semen, the seminal fluid is of low quality.
Smell
When the liquid “smells” with a putrid aroma, it means that pathogenic processes are occurring in the genitals. The ejaculate of a healthy animal has virtually no odor. In some cases, the semen may smell like freshly milked milk, this is normal.
How to store seed material?
After sperm collection, it is stored by reducing sperm metabolic processes. This allows you to increase the shelf life of the ejaculate for fertilization.
For a short period of time
For short-term storage of biomaterial, yolk diluents are used, which increase the resistance of sperm to temperature shock. Components included in the sperm preservation product:
| Nutrient | Quantity |
| Medical anhydrous glucose, g | 30 |
| Purified water, ml | 1000 |
| Chicken egg yolk, ml | 200 |
| Sodium citrate, g | 14 |
During storage of ejaculate, changes in temperature should be insignificant. Therefore, the seed is placed in a thermos or a special refrigerator. Diluted sperm is packaged in small bottles (ampoules, test tubes), filling them to the very top. This is necessary so that the ejaculate does not become loose during transportation.
The container with sperm is packed in foam rubber or wrapped in cotton wool, placed in a plastic bag, which is tightly closed. After this, cool to a temperature of 2...4 ˚С.
Seed material preserved by this method is used within 24 hours. After this period of time, the fertilizing ability of sperm drops sharply.
Long-term storage
Nowadays, low-temperature freezing of ejaculate is more often used, in which it can be stored for a long time in liquid nitrogen. This method allows you to preserve the fertilizing ability of sperm for several months (years). Another plus is that you can create a large supply of biomaterial.
With the nitrogen freezing method, adherence to a strict regime is mandatory. Temperature fluctuations above -150 ˚С are unacceptable.Ampules or granules with sperm products are placed in stationary containers located in special storage facilities.
