Hi! MY Lamancha doe isn't in heat yet but just for reference I called the local vet and they only would charge $35.00 for an A.I. and for the semen I was thinking of Little rainbow's Yogi Yahn . At these prices it seems like the way to go but does it work?????????www.littlerainbow.com/littlerainbow/lamanchabucks.html

-- Chandler in Minnesota (ProvidenceFarms2001@yahoo.com), February 04, 2002

Answers

Response to Artificial Insemination, Does It Work?

The answer is yes it does work but sometimes it takes more then one try. AI isn't recomended for first freshners. Does your doe cycle long enough for you to have time to get her to the vets during her cycle. Does the vet have a backup person to AI right when you need it if your regular vet isn't in?

-- shari (smillers@snowcrest.net), February 04, 2002.

Yes, it does work. I bred most of my does A.I. this year and seven are pregnant by the A.I. breedings, including two virgin doelings. A.I. is definitely the way to go for rapid improvement in quality- I can't say enough good about it. Do your homework and find a good buck for your doe.

However- the fact that your doe hasn't come into heat yet gives me cause to pause....Could she possibly be bred already? Or you have missed her heats? Timing is the most important factor in A.I., a difference of one hour can make all the difference in whether or not she gets pregnant. They should be bred just before they go out of heat or right as they are going out, so good records and careful observation are paramount.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), February 04, 2002.

Chandler has your vet every AIed a goat? What is their success rate? 35$ to AI and 25$ a straw and no kids gets pretty expensive. LaMancha talk on groups.yahoo.com has the AI queen, Pat Hendrickson on it, learn all you can on AI and by next fall when your doe is due to come back into heat you will be a pro! There are videos and clinics held all over, and perhaps you are lucky enough to have someone who AI's in your area. You also have to have a way of keeping the semen while you wait for the doe to come into heat, will your vet keep the semen for you, do you have to rent space? It costs more to get the semen to you, a rental of a shipper tank, and postage and insurance than to buy the semen. Now, don't let this discourage you, learn learn learn. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 04, 2002.

Thanx, do you know of any good semen donors that you could recommend? I searched on google but didn't turn up much info.

-- Chandler (ProvidenceFarms2001@yahoo.com), February 04, 2002.

www.biogenicsltd.com

dheaney@jeffnet.org which is Caprine semen sales

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 04, 2002.

You know, your best bet might be to find a local breeder that has semen and pay them to breed your doe. They do not necessarily have to own La Manchas- you can buy semen when they order it, or when they go to a Convention or the Nationals or other big shows. You could also rent space in their tank if they were willing. Does your vet have a tank? It would seem that he should if he is doing A.I.? Another useful source would be whoever suppplies the liquid nitrogen in your area. The man who fills my tank will transport semen for me from the other breeders that are on his route. He also will A.I. the goat, for a fee. He rents tanks out too, this might be more economical for you if you only want to A.I. the one doe. I guess it depends on how serious you are about your goats, and improving them. It may be more economical for you to transport your doe to a good la Mancha buck standing at stud. I can say that while it was expensive for me to get started in A.I., it has been a savings in the long run, and I have been really thrilled with the variety and quality of the bucks that I can have access to, it would have been impossible to use most of them without A.I.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), February 04, 2002.

My uncle use to breed dairy goats, for a while. He did AI sometimes, but he always had the idea, that some of his goat had miscarried their kids, and he blamed it to AI. He stop doing, that and got himself a he-goat, and after that he never lost a kid. I know what you guys are going to say, ok. But I think is not possible to improve in God's system. Ralph

-- Ralph Roces (rroces1@yahoo.com), February 05, 2002.

Ralph, we don't see it as trying to improve on God's system. We still use semen, we still deposit it in the uterus, splash the cervics, we just CUT OUT THE MIDDLEMAN :) Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 06, 2002.

Ralph- that could be true, and there are a couple of reasons that I can think of, off the top of my head. If a doe is pregnant, and come into heat (this can definitely happen), and you A.I. her while she is already pegnant, she will abort. This is because if you penetrate the cervix, it disturbs the plug, and the doe aborts. Thus, it's a good idea to wait an extra three weeks if you are not sure she is bred, she will come in a thrid time and you can breed her then. Or, you can rebreed her with a live buck, he will not disturb the plug if she is pregnant already.

There are also diseases that can be transmitted through semen, when I say diseases, I mean VD, that could cause the goats to abort or be sterile. VD is just as possible with live bucks as with A.I.

Also, I do not know the method that was used, but it is definitely possible to damage a doe's reproductive organs if you are not careful, that could cause miscarriages too. At the A.I. clinic I went to, they mentioned a vet who had used a needle gun to A.I. a particular doe. He bred her time after time and she didn't settle. When he did a post mortem to determine the cause, he found that the cervix had all these puncture marks and very bad scarring. In his enthusiasm, he had shoved the end of the gun right through her cervix, depositing the semen in her abdominal cavity. No wonder she didn't settle. If it happened to a vet, it could happen to us, it is very important to be sensitive and gentle. It can also work another way,where you get the gun through the cervix and into the uterus, and push it too far, right through the uterus. I would think that this would also decrease a doe's chances of carrying to term....If she got pregnant at all.

The purpose of this is not to scare anyone away from A.I., I am just saying that a goat's vagina, cervix, and uterus are delicate organs and need to be handled gently. Some does just cannot be settled A.I. and will have to be bred live.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), February 06, 2002.

Does anyone have info on places in the Midwest that teach you how to do AI'ing? I have looked everywhere to no avail! Around here it is all cattle and hogs.

-- Dia (moocow@gpcom.net), February 06, 2002.

Where in the midwest? Most states have goat clubs, calling them or joining will get you their newsletter and all the info on goats in your area. Local breeders will be able to help with which University or which AI collectors come to your area, get several groups together and have them give you a demo. Goats are not mainstream livestock, no matter how many of them there are around, be assertive, send me your state if you don't want it posted on here. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 06, 2002.

The "middle man" is very important, do you know that before matting, the goats "interchange" hormones, and during and after matting, those hormones, help the goat to get pregnant, and to have a sucessful pregnancy and delivery,also help the mother to get more mentally mature, and gets ready for her kid. Vs "Hey what are you doing with my >>>" ups I got something in my belly, and ups hey, what about that? I got a kid!!!....

-- Ralph Roces (rroces1@yahoo.com), February 07, 2002.

Ralph,my AI'd does still get to exchange the pheromones, they just do it through the fence. LOL! The doe and buck kiss each other, rub heads together, and still get their fair share of romancing. And mine have not had trouble with knowing they are pregnant, or mothering the kids, except with one who was always a poor mother, however she was bred.

Maybe there is another issue at hand? That we are sidestepping the male by using A.I.?

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), February 07, 2002.

I think you are right Rebekkah, men have got to be just the least bit peeved that not only do you not need bucks on the farm to breed, but some of us use semen from long ago dead guys! With the new, or perhaps more main stream information, even breeding virgin does is done. Know years back everyone would say you needed to keep bucks at least to breed virgin does! You don't hear that as much anymore. I applaud you for doing AI, I am just to blasted lazy, though I do use breeders who use AI, in fact most of my stock have AI animals in the current pedigree. Just one more thing to add to the list that I intend to get back into, making cheese, showing more :) Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 07, 2002.

I'm running into the same problem! I've contacted 3 large animal clinics. So far, none knows much about goats or A.I.'ing goats. I'm just about ready to contact a friend of mine who is a vet down in MO to see what she can tell me. Although my interested is meat goats, for the most part I think breeding and medical care in regard to meat as well as dairy goats is probably equal.

-- Katie S (cashcrop90@yahoo.com), February 09, 2002.