In this chapter we will examine the mechanics of insemination. You will find Chapter 4 on page 4-1 of your manual, feel free to make notes as we go through the chapter. Insemination is a series of mechanical steps that need to be preformed precisely in a specific order. You can’t change a tire until you have removed the lug nuts.
Some basics need to be addressed before beginning to inseminate. If you are right handed your left hand will enter the cow and manipulate the cervix. Your right hand will guide the insemination syringe. Short fingernails will protect the cow and you. Relax, tension tires the muscles faster. A positive person is one that focuses on the solution rather than the challenge.
To begin we need to choose the hand we will use to palpate the reproductive system. Generally this is your left hand if you are right handed or your right hand if you are left handed.
Short fingernails are important to reduce the damage to the cow’s rectum and to the inseminator's sleeve.
Use only KY Jelly or ABS A.I. Lube, not soaps or detergents. Remember if it kills germs it kills sperm.
Grasp the cow’s tail and gently rub the anus to get it to relax, then enter your cupped fingers and using the tail as leverage, push your arm into the rectum.
Here you see the cupped hand entering the cow.
Once you’re in to wrist depth, begin to look for the cervix, open your hand, press down and sweep from side to side, you will feel the pelvic cavity and find the gristly cervix.
Note the open hand.
Ballooning causes major problems for the inseminator; therefore, try to avoid bringing air into the rectum by pumping in and out.
Once the cervix has been located, you need to pick it up to be able to manipulate it. Sweep your hand under it and curve your fingers around it.
Here’s a diagram of the hand position to pick up the cervix.
Gently but firmly lift and move the cervix with steady pressure. The key is to use enough force to control it, not abuse it.
Wipe the vulva area with a towel to prevent contamination of the syringe and reproductive tract. Hold the syringe between your thumb and first two fingers. More like holding a dinner fork, not a screwdriver. Handle the syringe with a light touch, not jabs or stabs.
As you insert the syringe push up until you feel it stop, then level off and proceed forward. This will avoid entering the bladder and get it through the vestibule.
As you move the syringe forward in the vagina, gently but firmly move the cervix forward to help eliminate any vaginal folds. Always know where your syringe tip is as you proceed.
What happens to this fold when you move the cervix forward? Answer: It goes away because of the tightened tissue.
Now we need to enter the syringe into the cervix. To do this you need to have your thumb and first two fingers near the back end of the cervix where it joins the vagina. The syringe will rest on your last two fingers and you will use them to guide it into the cervix
This illustrates why you must work with the rear end of the cervix to get the syringe started. If this pouch is not closed off your syringe will continue to slide by the opening.
You can use the pelvis to help close off the blind pouch by holding the rear of the cervix against it. The key is to be sure your fingers are positioned at the rear of the cervix. Too much grabbing pressure will collapse the canal, adding to the difficulty.
Here’s an example of using the pelvis to help close off the blind pouch.
You will feel the tube slip into the cervix. Once in the cervix you will encounter some cervical rings or projections, these will be overcome by cervical manipulations with your fingertips at the tip of the syringe. Rocking, rolling and tilting the cervix will accomplish this.
Cervixes come in various shapes and sizes some with kinks and some without. Locations can vary too, in heifers it will be well toward the rear, in older cows it can be farther forward. In heifers the size will be smaller than in older cows that have had several calves.
Here are some examples of different shaped cervixes
Once the syringe has passed through cervix we need to stop it on target (where the uterus and the cervix join). To recognize when the syringe has passed through the cervix your index finger needs to be placed on the top of the forward end of the cervix to feel the tip come through. Once the tip is through the syringe will have a free floating feel; no resistance.
Note the index finger on top. Take the time to be sure of the location of the tip. It takes 9 months to get a calf, taking a few seconds to be sure isn’t much.
Refresher courses stressing semen placement are available in many areas.
How do I know if the cow is pregnant? Start with breeding records, anytime the cow shows a heat. Learn to recognize the signs of pregnancy.