How is pig artificial insemination technology applied in rural areas

Farmers raising sows in a free-range way can not only make full use of leftover food scraps, but also increase the family's economic income. Especially with the construction of rural biogas pits in recent years, in order to produce sufficient biogas, each household@#@227@#@has expanded from raising one or two pigs to eight or nine pigs now. This makes timely breeding of sows in heat a problem. In the past, rural areas mostly used natural mating, bringing in someone else's boar or taking the sow out. Transporting pigs back and forth is very inconvenient, and it is also bad for disease control. Thinking from a different perspective, if others raise sows and I specialize in raising breeding boars, building a small boar station to provide semen to surrounding farmers who raise sows and carry out artificial insemination, this is a@#@176@#@.

1. Advantages of artificial insemination ① Breed improvement. Through artificial insemination technology, pigs with a certain outstanding trait can be rapidly bred. For example, pigs with fast growth speed and high lean meat rate, or pigs with good mothering ability and strong reproductive capacity. ② It can make full use of the breeding value of boars. ③ Advantages in disease prevention and control. Artificial insemination avoids direct contact between boars and sows, so it can prevent the spread of various diseases, especially reproductive tract diseases. ④ Increase the conception rate. Artificial insemination uses semen that has passed inspection, so for infertile sows, the issue of semen quality can be ruled out and the cause can be sought directly from the sow, which helps eliminate sow infertility and increase the conception rate.

2. Equipment for a small boar station ① Boars: determined by the number of sows within the surrounding coverage area, generally allocating boars at a ratio of 1:80 to 1:100. One parent-generation breeding pig, weighing about 40 kg, with a growth period of about 100 days, costs 1400 yuan to 1500 yuan. ② Semen collection room: 1 dummy sow mount. ③ Laboratory equipment: 1 optical microscope, 1 electronic scale, 2 semen collection cups, 2 1000 ml plastic measuring cups, 2 1000 ml beakers, 1 pack of gauze, 1 pack of disposable semen collection plastic bags, 1 pack of rubber bands, several glass slides, and several coverslips. The total cost of the above equipment is 800 yuan to 1000 yuan.

3. Operation of artificial insemination ① Semen collection: The keeper drives the boar whose semen is to be collected to the semen collection pen, washes the boar's lower abdomen clean with distilled water, trims the hair around the penis, and dries it with a towel. The boar climbs onto the dummy sow mount and gradually extends the penis. The semen collector holds the glans and follows the movement to pull the penis out, holding the glans tightly to prevent it from rotating, and the boar can then ejaculate. The boar's penis has one erection and two ejaculations, and only the milky white semen is collected, that is, the semen from the middle period of the ejaculation process. The semen collection cup is lined with a disposable semen collection plastic bag, and the semen is filtered with double-layer gauze. Semen collection frequency: generally once a week for 8 to 12 months of age, 2 to 3 times a week for 12 to 18 months of age, and 2 times a week after 18 months of age. All boars should be collected once a week even if the semen is not used, in order to maintain the boar's libido and semen quality.

② Testing of semen quality: Weigh with an electronic scale, generally calculating 1 ml as 1 g. This determines the dilution ratio. Normal semen is milky white or light gray, and the greater the sperm density, the lower the transparency. If it is yellow or yellow-green, it indicates urine or preputial fluid; if it is pink or reddish-brown, it indicates blood in the semen, and such semen should be discarded. Semen with a slight fishy odor is normal. If there are other odors, such as a urine smell, it should be discarded.

③ Dilution of semen: After collection, semen should be diluted and bottled within 5 minutes. During dilution, the diluent and semen are required to be mixed at the same temperature. Slowly pour the diluent along a glass rod into the semen while stirring. When the diluent reaches the same amount as the original semen, stop pouring, let it stand for a moment, and then continue diluting until the appropriate density is reached.

④ Preservation of semen: If the divided and packaged semen cannot be used in time, it should be cooled at room temperature (22°C to 5°C) away from light, and after 1 hour placed in a 17°C constant-temperature refrigerator. In rural areas, household water wells 15 m from the ground (15 m underground) are generally used, suspending it in the well with a rope for preservation. Semen preserved in a refrigerator should be turned once every 8 to 12 hours to prevent sperm from dying due to sedimentation. Before use, microscopic examination must be carried out, and it can be used if motility is greater than 60%.

⑤ Insemination: For first-mating sows and sows in heat 7 days after weaning, inseminate immediately when the standing response appears; for those in heat 3 to 6 days after weaning, inseminate 6 to 12 hours after the standing response appears. During insemination, insert the insemination tube upward at a 45-degree angle into the sow's reproductive tract. After feeling resistance, continue to insert the insemination tube slowly and horizontally with force until you feel the front of the insemination tube is locked in place. Shake the semen evenly, cut off the flat tip, insert it into the insemination tube, make it flow smoothly, and carry out insemination.

During insemination, try to avoid squeezing the insemination bottle with force. If insemination is difficult, you can stimulate the sow by pressing on her back. If the semen is still difficult to inject, the insemination tube may be inserted too far forward into the uterus, and at this time the insemination tube needs to be pulled back a little. The insemination time should be at least 3 to 5 minutes. After inseminating one sow, to prevent air from entering the reproductive tract, the rear end of the insemination tube can be folded and placed into the insemination bottle so that it falls off naturally. Each pig should be inseminated at least twice during one estrous period, with an interval of 8 to 12 hours between the two inseminations. Less than 8 hours is meaningless.

4. Income from artificial insemination. Generally, after each semen collection is diluted with diluent, it can be used for artificial insemination of 13 to 15 sows. The price of one artificial insemination is 16 yuan to 18 yuan, and its cost is 1.5 yuan to 2 yuan (including the cost of raising breeding pigs and the cost of diluent). In areas with many pigs raised, especially areas with many piglets bred, this is a business with huge profits from a small investment.