H EAT D ETECTION, B REEDING P ROCEDURES

Heat Detection is an important part of any breeding program and should be performed twice per day. (whenever possible )

Take your time and work with the boar. Let him chat and do “his thing”…Boars helps stimulate your animals by sight, sound, and smell…

Rub the animal’s flanks and be alert to their reactions and body language…

Be patient and do not rush this process.

Confirm with some real-time backpressure… Be aggressive!

Inspect the vulva for swelling, reddening, and natural lubrication.

Separate, and/or mark the animals for accuracy in service times and intervals. This will make breeding easier…

Have people follow, or lead, to help confirm proper detection. Animals will often not lock for you immediately.

A full 6 minutes of valuable heat detection training film! Videos are from Hejlik Pig Company in Iowa, USA; and DOUX Frangosul in Brazil. Click picture to play video.

Proper procedures for loading the pipettes and staging your animals prior to their AI service. Although this sounds like an obvious task, our technology is different from what you are used to and there are some very important points made over the next few slides. For instance, in the video we show you that we load up to ten animals at one time and intentionally let them relax. There is NO stimulation and many of your sows will lay down. This is exactly how we want them! Please review the next slides closely.

Simple instructions on how to load our catheters. Absolute™ technology is different from what you are used to. Please take the time to watch these short presentations if you are new to our products.

It is more efficient to load your GILTS first, then load your SOWS LOAD UP TO 10 ANIMALS ALL AT ONE TIME!!! Never stimulate your animals during loading, keep them relaxed! Breed your Sows FIRST Then breed your Gilts Loading and breeding in this order automatically lets your GILTS relax longer without wasting valuable time. Production farms will soon notice this wait is actually no wait at all. IT HAPPENS AUTOMATICALLY AS PART OF THE LOADING PROCESS.

After inserting the pipettes, please wait… Wait at least 2 minutes for SOWS Wait at least 5-8 minutes for GILTS Please be sure to wait this time before squeezing the semen container and performing the insemination. This short “waiting period” allows the cervix to relax, making it easier for the membrane to worm its way safely through the delicate cervical folds on its way to the uterus…

PLEASE DO NOT CHECK THE LOCK RIGHT BEFORE BREEDING! When it is time to inseminate your animals Please do not check the lock on the catheter like you normally would; unless it was dislodged from the cervix by the animal backing into the gate. (in this case, reload the catheter and wait the appropriate 2-5 minutes. If you check the lock like normal, the action will stimulate the animal’s cervix and cause her to clamp down hard on the foam tip; this action tightens her entire tract and makes it harder for our membrane(s) to travel “through” the cervix directly into the uterus. Please keep your animals as relaxed as possible!

Using the proper Absolute™ pipette squeezing technique… Many short videos follow this slide. You will see some inseminations that work perfectly, and others that take a little patience. If you run into an animal that does not immediately accept the membrane; DO NOT FIGHT IT. Either move on to the next animal and return later, or try waiting seconds in between squeezes… Be patient and get a feel for the process; you will master it in no time at all.

Watch how easily semen is “injected” directly into your animal!

A perfect insemination on a GILT. (refill the semen container with air to push any and all residual semen remaining in the pipette into the uterus. This ensures a full dose is administered into your animal and improves results; there is no harm to your animal…)

If an animal does not want to accept the dose at first, come back a little later. Please do not try to force it; “you” will just get tired!

You will soon get a “feel” for the membrane progressing inside the animals. This procedure is very easy to learn!

Don’t be fooled! Sometimes the membrane will suck back inside the pipette due to a vacuum…

WOW, that was strange! Yes, and you would be surprised how many times people have told me a membrane did not deploy but the dose successfully went into the animal... If this happens to you, look at the membrane of the used catheter and then look at the membrane in a rod that has not yet been used. The membrane in an unused catheter is folded and appears to be very short. The membrane in the catheter you just used on your animal, even though it is inside the tube, should no longer have a fold in it and should appear longer… This happens more often in Gilts than it does Sows and is caused by a vacuum; it can even happen when using flat packs.

If semen returns to the bottle, please wait a few minutes and then try again… This little trick works almost every time.

PLEASE DO NOT BREAK THE LOCK! When using the Absolute™ catheters, if you follow our instructions, your animals will be relaxed; sometimes they will even be laying down or sleeping. Because of this, when you apply pressure to the semen container and the membrane travels forward, it tries to push the catheter backwards and out of the cervix. You need to maintain a slight forward pressure on the catheter to prevent the lock from breaking. If the foam tip pops out of the cervix, the membrane can turn around and you will get backflow…THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!

As you squeeze the semen container, placed your other hand near the animal’s vulva and apply slight forward pressure.

SUMMARY FOR THIS SECTION Please take time to understand our recommended procedures. Although there are a lot of times that your current methods may work with the catheter your currently using, it takes a understanding, acceptance and patience when you are adapting a new system. Press “X” under “sign out” to go the Main Menu.