Points to note when supplying semen for artificial insemination of pigs

In addition to strengthening the management of boars, supporting the construction of boar stations, increasing equipment investment, ensuring semen quality, and establishing a service network, the unified supply of semen for pigs also requires the resolution of several key links, which are described as follows:

I. Cleanliness and sanitation

1. Hygiene of boars Clean the pig house regularly every day, train the boars to eat, sleep and excrete at three points, so that the boars maintain a good living environment. Keep the trough clean, and clean the trough with a high-pressure cleaner at least once a week; check the quality of the feed before each feeding, and destroy the moldy and deteriorated feed, and do not feed the boars; clean the feces and urine in the pig pen in time to reduce the chance of contamination of the boar’s body and foreskin; brush the boars regularly to remove dust and dandruff on the boars: disinfect the pig house twice a week.
2. Hygiene of the semen collection room and the semen collectors The semen collection room should be clean and dry, and the fake Taiwan pigs should be disinfected after the semen collection is completed every day. Semen collectors must wear work clothes and sanitary caps to prevent hair and dandruff from falling off and contaminating semen. Semen collectors must wear gloves when collecting semen to prevent cross-contamination of semen. At the same time, semen collectors must trim their nails regularly to prevent long nails from scratching gloves and contaminating semen. Do not collect the front part of semen during semen collection. After semen collection, tie the semen collection bag and immediately cover the thermos cup lid.
3. Semen processing Clean the laboratory regularly every day to minimize dust on the floor, countertops, walls and ceiling of the laboratory. Semen dilution personnel must change work clothes and shoes and hats when entering the laboratory. After each use, the semen collection cup, dilution cup, glass rod and dilution powder bottle must be thoroughly cleaned and ensured to be cleaned twice with distilled water, then disinfected, and rinsed with diluent before use.
4. Pay attention to cleanliness during insemination to reduce the occurrence of uterine inflammation. Place the test boar in front of the estrus sow to stimulate the sow. Use 0.1% potassium permanganate aqueous solution to clean the sow’s vulva, tail root and buttocks, and wipe the sow’s vulva with clean toilet paper. Gently mix the semen to evenly distribute the semen in the insemination bottle, and insert the vas deferens into the sow’s vagina. Paying attention to the above details is one of the reliable guarantees to ensure that the sow’s uterus is not contaminated.
5. Temperature control
6. Preparation before semen collection Before semen collection, all items that come into contact with semen, including gloves, semen collection cups, semen sub-packaging bottles, etc., must be preheated in a constant temperature box at 37°C to ensure that the temperature of items that come into contact with semen is slightly lower than the temperature of semen during semen collection. The diluent is preheated in a 37°C water bath in advance to ensure that the diluent is mixed evenly. The laboratory air conditioner is set according to the outside temperature to ensure that the laboratory temperature is around 25°C.
7. Dilution of semen Immediately after semen collection, the semen quality is checked, including semen color, odor, vitality and density, and appropriate dilution is performed according to the inspection results. The temperature difference between the diluent and the original semen should not exceed 2°C, otherwise it will seriously affect the sperm motility after the semen is diluted.
8. Packaging, storage and transportation of semen After the semen is diluted, it should be packaged immediately, and the semen bottle should be taken out from the constant temperature box so that the temperature difference between the diluted semen and the semen bottle is not higher than 2°C. After the semen is packaged, it is not advisable to store the semen in a 17°C incubator immediately. The semen should be placed at room temperature (25°C) for about 10-20 minutes, and then placed in the incubator after slow cooling. A constant temperature box should be used during the transportation of semen to ensure that the motility of the sperm is not affected in any way.
9. Personnel training and policy support

The unified semen supply of pigs is related to the quality of their offspring, especially the implementation of unified semen supply has a greater impact. Using artificial insemination technology, a boar can breed thousands of piglets a year. It can be seen that raising good boars, improving the quality of breeding, and breeding more and better healthy piglets are very important for improving the quality and quantity of pigs. Therefore, there must be dedicated technicians in charge of the introduction and selection of breeding pigs, feeding management, training, and use, and the technicians must be trained regularly to improve their professional skills. In addition, the implementation of unified semen supply requires large equipment investment and high costs, and certain policy support is needed at the beginning.