For most of the work, the forward pipetting technique is recommended:

This fact is relatively frequent and is called “Dilution Effect“. This means that there are certain males (an individual matter) whose semen does not withstand dilution well and after mixing with the diluent, the spermatozoa are very traumatized and, therefore, their motility is greatly diminished. In other words, not all ejaculates withstand the dilution process in the same way, this being a totally individual matter. There are two theories to explain why this occurs:

The first thing to do is to give the ejaculate some time to rest after dilution and see how it evolves in the next half hour left at room temperature. In many cases the spermatozoa react and when we re-evaluate the motility after half an hour we see that the motility has improved significantly, in this case we would proceed to fill the doses. If after half an hour we see that the motility is still bad, we have no choice but to throw it away, that is why it is advisable not to fill the doses until we see how it is definitively and thus save time and money. If we see that the spermatozoa of this boar do not recover motility, another thing we can do for the following collections is to use another diluent, that is to say, if in this case they are using MRA, we should do the test to see what happens with our MRA-3 or BTS. This does not mean that the first diluent that we have used is good or bad, only that its composition does not match well with that of the seminal plasma of that particular male. It is also advisable to modify in that particular male the way of collection, i.e., if we are collecting only rich fraction, to collect all or almost all the ejaculate, including intermediate and even poor fraction. If, on the other hand, all the ejaculate or the rich and intermediate fractions are collected, only the rich fraction should be collected. For this reason, there are variations among the different people who collect semen in large centers, since some people are more strict than others during collection. If we do all this and we see that the ejaculates still do not improve after dilution, we should inform the genetic house from which we have bought this male to replace him, since he is not useful for the purpose for which we have bought him, male for artificial insemination. From experience we know that these males in which nothing works are not going to improve with time, so they should be removed as soon as possible.

To avoid bacterial contamination of the semen, washings with 10% chlorhexidine digluconate or 10% betadine solutions are used. These washes can be performed every 15 days.

It is important to take into account that the origin of agglutination is very varied: very concentrated semen, effect of vaccine reactions, infectious processes, defects in semen handling during collection, presence of abundant bacterial contamination, external contaminants (talc, dust, etc.), etc. Therefore, in addition to recommending the improvement of semen collection handling (use 100cc of diluent, do not delay dilution with the diluent, improve semen filtration, etc.), vitamin C can be used as a treatment. This can be administered orally, in preparations to be dissolved in drinking water, or as an injectable. Treatment: 150-200 mg/day 3 times a week for 7 days.

Note: apply 30 cc of PREDIL® MRA® before each seminal dose.

Throughout history, several techniques have been used for the presensitization of future breeders: insemination with sterile saline solution, mating with vasectomized or epididectomized males or, as introduced, insemination with dead semen. As a complement to all that has been mentioned so far, it should be pointed out that there is currently available in the market, synthetic seminal semen, Predil, which is a product that is indicated to maximize or increase the number of piglets born in the first parturition, with the positive consequence that it has in the whole productive life of the female. It works in two ways:

1. After insemination of a female, what destroys the most sperm is the female’s own immune reaction, in an adult female, about 40% of the sperm are destroyed by the female herself and in a nulliparous female, who has had no previous contact with semen, this reaction kills more than 60% of the sperm. What Predil does is that it decreases this strong immune reaction causing less sperm to be destroyed and therefore more sperm to be available for fertilization, which will lead to better prolificacy results. There are many trials and many farms using it and the increase in piglets in the first farrowing is, on average, about half a piglet more (between 0.3 and 0.7 piglets).

2. In addition, Predil, being seminal plasma, synthetic but seminal plasma, has sperm stimulating properties and activates uterine contractions (peristaltic movements) which makes the sperm move faster inside the female and reach the fertilization site more and in better conditions. Seminal plasma, due to its biochemical composition, stimulates the spermatozoa and their absorption during their journey through the genital tract of the female (cervix-uterus), maintaining their vitality, which is favorable for fertilization. The synthetic seminal plasma has a composition similar to that of the natural synthetic plasma, and seeks, in addition to fulfilling these functions when performing artificial insemination, to reduce the reflux and increase the vitality of the spermatozoa, adapting the response of the uterus to the contact with the semen. The form of use in the nulliparous is simple, in the estrus prior to the first insemination, a full dose of Predil is introduced, 90 – 100 cc, in the same way as if we were inseminating the female. As the Predil does not carry sperm, the female, 21 days later, will come out again in heat and this will be the heat in which we will inseminate her using the biphasic technique. What is this biphasic technique? It is nothing more than the introduction of 30 – 35 cc of Predil prior to the introduction of the semen dose, that is to say, we have a nulliparous bitch in heat again that in the previous heat we put 90 – 100 cc of Predil, we introduce the insemination catheter that we are using in the usual way and once fixed in the cervix we put 30 – 35 cc of Predil and immediately, with the same catheter, without the need for the insemination catheter, she will come out in heat again, without the need for the insemination catheter, With the same catheter, without removing it or anything else, we put the semen dose as we always do, and that is all, we only have to wait for the female to stop and see the result, which, on average, we obtain about half a piglet more in the first parturition, which is very important since the females that give birth more in the first parturition are the ones that produce more piglets throughout their productive life. This biphasic technique must be repeated in the 2 or 3 inseminations that the nulliparous bitch carries during the time she is in heat. Another advantage of using synthetic seminal plasma is that it is totally aseptic, avoiding the high risk of contamination that exists when using dead semen or mating with vasectomized males. Many producers in different countries are already working in this way finding average productive advantages of 0.3 – 0.5 more piglets in the first calving and, in some cases, higher.

The current trend to ensure results is to work with concentrations between 1500 and 2000 million. We all know that a female can get pregnant with lower concentrations, but farm conditions change every day and something happens every day that makes it necessary to work with higher concentrations to achieve consistently good results. We have also been working for some time with higher volumes since it has been seen that there are better results, between 50 and 60 cc per dose. There are already many centers that are working with doses of 60 cc and 1800 million spermatozoa.

The number of doses usually remains the same or decreases a little for the reason that if in the third AI we have difficulty in passing the inner cannula, it is best to remove the catheter and not inseminate the female because it means that the cervix is finishing closing or has already closed completely; indicating that the estrus is over and, therefore, that ovulation has already occurred. Any semen that we put in this situation will not help anything, on the contrary, it will be harmful to the female since we can even trigger vulvar discharges.

No, the application program should be the same, do not modify it. Note that we only advance the spermatozoa about 13 – 15 cm into the genital tract of the female.

The truth is that there is no big difference between using bags, tubes or bottles, so there is not really a manual on the use of each type, but for sow self-insemination the blisters work very well. Thanks to its flexibility it respects the sow’s physiology during insemination since the sow self-inseminates (insemination is controlled by the sow’s contractions and is not forced), so it is not necessary to exert pressure on the bag or perforate it, thus reducing backflow, improving hygiene conditions. It can also be thought to improve semen conservation since, thanks to its shape, it better preserves the life of the spermatozoa during conservation. The cells are spread over a larger surface and with a lower sedimentation height, thus reducing sperm degradation. An added advantage is the small volume occupied by the empty containers, since they come in rolls, and the smaller space needed to store the already prepared doses. A disadvantage is that filling in the laboratory, if there is no automatic machine, is slower and more cumbersome than filling tubes or bottles. For this reason, in small and even medium-sized centers that do not have access to automatic machines because of their high cost, they are not widely used. In terms of insemination results, there is no difference in fertility or prolificacy compared to other types of containers. All this depends on how the insemination is performed, protocol, timing, semen quality, etc., more than on the type of container.

To achieve an accurate pipetting it is necessary to follow some basic guidelines, a good working technique and to keep the pipettes in a good state of conservation.

For most of the work, the forward pipetting technique is recommended:

Wash with neutral, phosphate-free soap, rinse with plenty of potable water and rinse with distilled water to remove all possible residues. Recommended sterilization cycles: