Today, I've found some interesting things about AI... Yes, it's kinda weird and all the stuff, but you get used to it.
Artificial insemination (AI) is a process by which sperm are collected from the male, processed, stored and artificially introduced into the female reproductive tract for the purpose of conception. AI has become one of the most important techniques ever devised for the genetic improvement of farm animals. It has been most widely used for breeding dairy cattle and has made bulls of high genetic merit available to all.
HISTORY OF AI
The history of AI is interesting. Old Arabian documents dated around 1322 A.D. indicate that an Arab chieftain wanted to mate his prize mare to an outstanding stallion owned by an enemy. He introduced a wand of cotton into the mare's reproductive tract, then used it to sexually excite the stallion causing him to ejaculate. The semen was introduced into the mare resulting in conception.
Anthony van Leeuwenhook, inventor of the microscope, first observed human spermatozoa under magnification. This finding led to further research. Spallanzani is usually considered the inventor of AI. His scientific reports of 1780 indicate successful use of AI in dogs.
In 1899, Ivanoff of Russia pioneered AI research in birds, horses, cattle and sheep. He was apparently the first to successfully inseminate cattle artificially. Mass breeding of cows via AI was first accomplished in Russia, where 19,800 cows were bred in 1931. Denmark was first to establish an AI cooperative association in 1936. E.J. Perry of New Jersey visited the AI facilities in Denmark and established the first United States AI cooperative in 1938 at the New Jersey State College of Agriculture.
The AI industry has grown tremendously in the United States since its beginning. In 1970, USDA reported that 7,344,420 dairy females were bred artificially, 46% of the female dairy cattle population.
Now that you have learned a little about AI, you are probably wondering... what are the good things, and what are the bad things? Well... Let me tell ya!
Advantages:
- You can use semen from a dead animal that has had semen stored.
-The semen can be used in thousands of females a year, rather than a lower number in the "mating season"
Disadvantages:
- it's not a job that you can learn by doing it over, and messing up. A trained professional should come in and do it for you.
-if the semen is not stored properly it will go bad.
-you usually only get s 60%70% contraception rate. depending on the animal
Overall AI has become a big part of the animal industry. You usually see a lot of it in cattle. It’s helped the animal population grow and become larger. I hope when I get to do my internship with the vet that I’ll be able to see how this is done in real life!!! I also want to get into how they store the semen and stuff like that. Which I will cover in my next blog!!!
Works cited :http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ds089
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