Artificial Insemination
After using rams from multiple production-oriented flocks in the United States, we weren't sure where to turn for our next genetics. Purchasing rams without solid production numbers (Expected Breeding Values) behind them was like gambling- some rams performed very well, others did not. But it was difficult to tell how they would perform by just looking at them. We didn't want to take that risk again. Therefore we decided to import genetics from the 'motherland' of the Dorset breed, England. The British flocks use genetic evaluation systems to objectively measure and select for production traits, they emphasize fall lambing, and their breed type remains true.
In October 2007, we artificially
inseminated 76 ewes with genetics from two unrelated rams from the Blackdown
flock in England.
We plan to AI again in Fall 2010 with more Blackdown genetics.
The AI process in sheep- unlike cattle and swine, sheep cannot be AI'd transcervically with high success rates. Therefore, they are AI'd laparoscopically where the semen is deposited directly into each horn of the uterus.
