PDA

View Full Version : The Adventures of Freezing Semen with www.Equine-Reproduction.com


Daventry
May. 1, 2009, 06:35 PM
Jos Mottershead just left today after spending 7 days here freezing semen on all three of our boys. I definitely learned A LOT and highly recommend their services. Lots of little tips and tricks, that you'd likely only learn from attending their short courses, to the latest bio security methods for collecting multiple stallions...which is what we now have on the property.

I tested out the Bravetti Digital Kettle and just love it...I know a few people were waiting to hear how well it worked. It is a temperature controlled kettle that can be set at a variety of temperatures and holds 2 L. It heated the water quickly, temperature was accurate, has a see-through side panel to accurately measure water and was easy to use.
http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/8/KitchenBath/2/Appliances/Kettles/PRD~0430251P/Bravetti%2BDigital%2BKettle.jsp

Here are the important things I learned while Jos was here:

nitrogen tanks are required to freeze semen. Greyhound Bus Lines WILL lose nitrogen tanks between point A and point B days before one needs them and have no idea where they are!
UPS will try to "return to sender" crucial equipment that has been drop shipped ahead of time for the freezings
getting everything ready Friday morning for Jos to arrive on Saturday + finding out he actually arrives Friday evening = panic attack
the timing at which a disposable liner will rip is in diect correlation to the importance of the collection needed for freezing :no:
cat hair sticks to frozen semen straws
the weather will be a quiet and beautiful 70 F before and after Jos leaves. In between will be a 100% chance of snow, rain, sleet, hail and the occasional pipeline being installed next door during each collection :yes:
husband slaving for hours building breeding dummy + stallion + neighbors driving by just as AV is inserted on stallion = priceless :o:lol:
the most hideous breeding mount on the planet will not deter a stallion from mounting it :winkgrin:
the length of ones arm holding the AV will permanently increase by one inch per collection. So, 16 collections times 16 inches...you get the picture!
A535 ProHeat wraps are great to wrap around baby bottles to help keep the semen warm during collecting. Once the semen has been processed, one must then carefully peel the heat wrap off of the bottle and quickly place it on ones back after collecting stallions all day
when on a coffee/donut run to Tim Horton's, make sure the other person DID indeed order food before standing at the sandwich window like idiots for 10 minutes waiting for a sandwich that was never ordered :lol:
ice cream pail full of mare urine + husband = dry heaving :lol::lol:
the rate of speed semen will hit a wall across the room is in direct relation to the velocity and the angle at which it was directed :lol:
3 stallions + 7 days + 4 freezings per stallion + Jos's expertise and knowledge = PRICELESSThanks Kathy for helping us coordinate everything! :yes: Oh yeah, and if anybody has a couple of cute little Jack Russell Terrier puppies that are in need of a new home, Jos is currently looking. Feel free to contact him directly. :D

alliekat
May. 1, 2009, 07:20 PM
Great post!!!
It sounds like you took in a whole lot.
Congrats.

Daventry
May. 3, 2009, 09:48 AM
Great post!!!
It sounds like you took in a whole lot.
Congrats.

Yes, it definitely was an excellent learning experience. Glad my husband learned a few more techniques too...err, for the stallions that is. :lol:

Equine Reproduction
May. 3, 2009, 11:24 AM
<smile>...Glad things went well for you up there, Tracy. I got to hear all about the cold, nasty, unpleasant weather. But then, Jos "did" miss out on the 8 inches of rain on one day and all the joys that go along with that! One can surf, sans a surf board, from the top of the stallion paddocks down to the house on mud at our place <rolling eyes>. Lovely. Of course, when it's rainy and muddy like this, it gives me the opportunity to work on indoor activities like much neglected housework and paperwork! And what better time to clean carpeting???? :o!! Oh yeah...I always clean carpets when we have a new puppy that we're housebreaking and mud up to our ankles! Just my backwards logic.

Thanks Kathy for helping us coordinate everything! :yes: Oh yeah, and if anybody has a couple of cute little Jack Russell Terrier puppies that are in need of a new home, Jos is currently looking. Feel free to contact him directly. :D

Hmmm...Tracy??? I would make a personal trip up to visit you with every puppy that Jos managed to acquire to deposit on your doorstep. Methinks your kitty cats would LOVE the vast hours of entertainment running laps up your curtains and over the top of everything in the house with Jackies in hot pursuit! Now THAT is priceless :D

For those that are puzzled by the whole puppy thing, while Jos was off gallivanting around the Northern Territories, we ended up with a new rescue puppy. Jos has threatened that for every new dog that I acquire, he gets to add to his "collection" an equal weight in Jack Russell Terrier puppies. He further goes on to say that as he was in Canada and the current exchange rate is about 1.2, he gets an extra 20% in equal weight of puppies. NOT!!! As this puppy is about 6 weeks old and currently weighs in at around 10 pounds, I'm a bit apprehensive about just how big she's going to get! Contrary to Tracy's ever so "kind" assistance in attempting to locate Jack puppies for Jos, we are currently at our full quota. One is definitely enough! Thankfully, Jos loves dogs as much as I do <gentle smile>. But, at four dogs, I think we're definitely at our quota!

sfstable
May. 3, 2009, 11:49 AM
Glad my husband learned a few more techniques too...err, for the stallions that is. :lol:

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

Sonesta
May. 3, 2009, 08:47 PM
sounds like a good time was had by all!

Fantastic
May. 3, 2009, 08:56 PM
Sonesta wrote: sounds like a good time was had by all!
Yeah, especially by the one with the 4 legs!:D


By chance are any of the puppies that you located rough coated?


What are the costs involved in freezing semen? How many doses are averaged per collection?

Daventry
May. 4, 2009, 12:09 AM
What are the costs involved in freezing semen? How many doses are averaged per collection?

Prices vary across North America...as does the experience and expertise of the person doing the freezing...which is why we flew Jos all the way up here. Their prices are at the bottom of this page: http://www.equine-reproduction.com/services/index.shtml They charge $395 US for one single collection and freeze or a package of 4 collections for $1,295 US. I know that Jos mentioned the average is normally 5-15 straws per collection. Some variables have the potential to affect those numbers though, such as age.

imajacres
May. 4, 2009, 07:19 AM
HI there, could you let me know when you have stats on Sporty frozen, and what the cost will be as well?
THanks, Ingrid

Daventry
May. 4, 2009, 08:56 AM
HI there, could you let me know when you have stats on Sporty frozen, and what the cost will be as well?
THanks, Ingrid

We've decided we'd be crazy to offer Sporty's frozen semen to the general public...with him being 22 years old...and have decided to save it for after he is gone. We were impressed with the stats on his fresh shipped semen so will definitely be offering that to the public. ;)

imajacres
May. 4, 2009, 01:06 PM
Oh wow that is too bad. It is so much easier and more convenient than fresh:-(. OK well, I guess we will have to play the fresh shipping game then when the time comes. Ingrid

Daventry
May. 4, 2009, 01:11 PM
Yes, people either love frozen semen or hate it. Most Mare Owners I've talked to have found fresh shipped semen much more convenient and don't like the hassles of the extra vet visits and ultrasounding associated with frozen semen. But, a lot of that depends on the Stallion Owners schedule. We ship semen Monday to Friday, as well as Saturday to limited locations. On our farm, we basically stay on call as soon as we know a mare is in heat and try to work with our Mare Owners as best we can. As a result, we still maintain a 100% First Cycle Conception Rate for our shipped semen program! :D