Jembella Farm: Artificial Insemination

Sunday, 29 June 2014

Artificial Insemination

Today the planets have aligned. We managed to synchronize Bella's cycle in time with the AI (artificial insemination) man.
The calendar was marked three weeks ago that Bella was due to cycle on Friday 27th June.
Friday came & went, we had our local Dairy farmer friend on stand by, but there were no signs of anything. Yesterday evening we noticed Bella started to flirt with Daisy.
Aha... ! The time was right for us but our kind farmer friend was elsewhere!
Plans were made for him to pay us a visit today & hopefully she would still be receptive.
This is the frustration of relying on AI, so when we have a successful AI completed, we breathe a sigh of relief & count 21days hoping that the cow has conceived. If she shows signs of cycling again then, we know that this AI was not successful. This can happen & has happened.

Preparing the semen straw into the applicator

Sterile plastic glove

Bella is relaxed while she eats her chaff.

The semen is inserted into the cervix.
I guess a warning of graphic pictures should have been placed at the top of the page, but if you're reading this blog you probably need to expect the unexpected occasionally. This is farming life & if we're to write about it, it should be in a transparent way.
Bella had no stress at all during the procedure. She happily walked into the milking parlour, stuck her greedy head into the feed bin & munched contentedly.
Brian & I were probably more stressed than anyone. The hope of another calf born here on our property in nine & a half months time is something to be excited about. Each birth is equally as exciting as the very first calf born all those year ago.
Daisy is due to cycle next week & the AI man is on standby & waiting for the phone call. Hopefully the planets will align again.

Next year Mulga Bill will be on hand to inseminate the girls. At just four months old, he's already showing bullish tendencies but needs to grow much taller.

1 comment:

Anonymous30 June 2014 at 11:55
great blog love the photos keep us informed how Daisy goes
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About Us

Whether you're living in an apartment, in a house in the suburbs or on acres, you can live frugally and sustainably. There are many things you can do to save money, eat ethically and healthily, reduce waste and live an enriched life.
We are Sally and Brian and we live in the Barossa Valley (South Australia) in a 100 year old house on sixteen acres with 2 dogs, 7 cows, 2 alpacas, 5 geese, 35 chickens, 78 sheep and a few bee hives.
Our way of life takes team work and dedication, but over the years we've learned to be more productive without seeming to put in quite so much effort. We've learned through making mistakes and taking a different approach to what the conventional ways would be. Still learning every day and constantly researching old and new methods, we believe that our lives are greatly enriched, we are healthier and we couldn't imagine any other way of life.
Considered to be living The Good Life, people love to visit us on our small farm to learn about our simple living philosophy.

Why do we do it?
Our love of good food, concern for our health and respect for all animals. The further we got into living on the land the more aware we became that most of the standard practices of growing food were not satisfactory. We couldn't eat with a clear conscience.
Milk from sad cows, pasteurized and homogenized into white liquid. Meat from distressed, hormone and antibiotic pumped livestock. Vegetables and fruits grown and sprayed with chemicals. What to do? Grow our own!
Slowly we grew our knowledge and took one step at a time, becoming proficient in one skill before moving on to the next. The learning curves were steep. We fell over and got back up again. There has been some derision and criticism of our approach from a few, but that's life when you swim against the tide.
If we are not the "norm" then so be it. There is nothing "normal" about growth hormones fed to beef, anti-biotics and chemicals fed routinely to chickens, cruelty and disrespect for farmed animals, meals in a box, GM foods, strawberries and tomatoes in winter.
Thankfully the World is waking up to cleaner and more ethical food. We didn't know back then that Organics and Bio-dynamics would become the "new black". The tide is turning and our swimming is becoming easier.