artificial insemination poultry

I realize this is ripe for all sorts of fun...but I was wondering...semen of many farm animals is exported either frozen or fresh to far away females. We don't do this with rooster semen because...?

Yes, it is possible to collect rooster semen, maybe not as straihgt forward as other critters. So why can't it be scooped into a little container, plopped in some liquid nitrogen and delivered to a hen? (okay, delivered to a farmer since hen's don't have their own mailing address OR their own VISA)

What is the viability of rooster semen once it's outside the hen? Fresh, frozen, chilling on ice...why won't this work? Has it been tried? I surely can't be the first to wonder about this. For all I know it IS being done and I'm just out of the loop.

Yes! In Holland there is this program on preservation of pure breeds for research and also security. They have collected straws of semen from the best roosters of almost all recognized breeds and will continue doing so for years to come. If frozen, it has no expiry date as long as it is stored in an environment that is well maintained and stable.

I will have to dig up the article on this and maybe do a translate for you, your next question I am guessing: Can we ship some

Piet

Piet that is interesting. So obviously it is still viable after being frozen. We use frozen semen from bulls for our AI program here, but I know that horse semen is not as viable once frozen and they prefer to use chilled instead. It is interesting that rooster semen withstands the freezing process well.
Hmmm, the possibilities are endless with a huge tank full of bull semen here to you think they would notice a little bitty bit of rooster spuff????

coopslave wrote:
think they would notice a little bitty bit of rooster spuff????

Having dealt with canine semen I can tell you that it cannot for some reason be stored with any other kind. Now that may just be the ckcs policy. It is also very expensive. I have been given 2 straws of semen from a dog behind my line. THe person waived the 1500.00 stud fee. The semen is in Oregon at the International canine semen bank. It is going to cost me around 400.00 to have it tranfered to Edmonton for storage. It will cost around 1000.00 to use it with progesterone testing and implant. Thats why its still in Oregon. lol It might be cheaper shipping hatching egggs. Or instead of an AMerican Drift have a Chicken Run! lolollolo
Geri needing my first coffee

I think it would be amazing to be able to save, store and purchase the genetics of top quality roosters.

I wonder about the cost. It might be cheaper to just buy and ship the rooster itself.

I am guessing that shipping semen over international borders might be easier than shipping live birds. I think, but could be wrong, the shipping semen would keep certain diseases OUT of the country, but might bring some in. I am not clear what diseases might be carried in semen.

ANd how is it collected? Not to be indelicate, but is it taken with a needle through the back of the rooster straight from the testicle? Or is it collected from the business end, where it meets the hen? I am trying to figure how uncontaminated this semen could be collected, essentially, from the rooster's butt surface? Does this potential contamination with surface 'germs' prevent shipping across international borders? Does this mean poultry semen would contain a higher percentage of possible transferable disease?

.......

I dont know much about chickens, but I went to college for horse breeding. When we collect a stallion, the semen is diluted in something called an "extender" (this is for shipping the semen cooled, not frozen). The extender is made up of (interestingly) a 'secret' recipe of milk, egg proten and other goodies. You also have the option of purchasing extender with an antibiotic in it, which is supposed to reduce the risk of bacterial contamination.

When you ship semen that is cooled only, there is a specific time window that it remains viable, so frozen is more conveinent, but way more expensive, and has a wider margin of error. I'm unsure about the hens reproductive cycle, but with horses, cows, dogs, ect. The female has to be at a specific point in the fertility cycle to be "fertile," IE: Ovum just releaced from the falopian tubes. Again, not sure on how that works in hens.

Here's a video on collection and direct insemenation, (no freezing or shipping of the semen). Which might be usefull for the people having issues setting up breeding pens, as you dont need to have the roo in with the hens.

WARNING: This deals with Roo and Hen rear ends, its informative, but you will see everything. If your squeemish, dont watch

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Swamp Hen wrote:Here's a video on collection and direct insemenation, (no freezing or shipping of the semen). Which might be usefull for the people having issues setting up breeding pens, as you dont need to have the roo in with the hens.

WARNING: This deals with Roo and Hen rear ends, its informative, but you will see everything. If your squeemish, dont watch

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Interesting...is it just me or did those roosters in the video look to be really enjoying themselves?

Flicker Chick wrote:

Swamp Hen wrote:Here's a video on collection and direct insemenation, (no freezing or shipping of the semen). Which might be usefull for the people having issues setting up breeding pens, as you dont need to have the roo in with the hens.

WARNING: This deals with Roo and Hen rear ends, its informative, but you will see everything. If your squeemish, dont watch

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Interesting...is it just me or did those roosters in the video look to be really enjoying themselves?

If you listen very carefully you can hear him ask for a cigarette!

Very interesting video. I have never seen AI in birds before. Not something I think I would personally use, but the whole frozen semen thing is interesting.
I think the dogs are so expensive because it is a cash cow. Cattle are much cheaper and all synchronized to be cycling at the same time. Horses are a bit more expensive, but the dogs sound outrageous to me.

That was a very interesting video and worked pretty much the way I've heard it described.

I can see the cost of rooster semen being high simply because the quantity collected at one time is so small. One collection to fertilize one or two hens. With bulls or stallions, the quantity collected can be divided into many small vials, so maybe 20 or 25 (guessing) females can be AIed.

This is all very good to know.

coopslave wrote:

Flicker Chick wrote:

Swamp Hen wrote:Here's a video on collection and direct insemenation, (no freezing or shipping of the semen). Which might be usefull for the people having issues setting up breeding pens, as you dont need to have the roo in with the hens.

WARNING: This deals with Roo and Hen rear ends, its informative, but you will see everything. If your squeemish, dont watch

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Interesting...is it just me or did those roosters in the video look to be really enjoying themselves?

If you listen very carefully you can hear him ask for a cigarette!

Bahaha! Good one.