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Author Topic: AI and other breeding interventions in sheep - views  (Read 13137 times)

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
AI and other breeding interventions in sheep - views
« on: October 21, 2015, 10:40:20 am »
I'm interested to know more about people's views on artificial insemination and other 'interventions' in the natural breeding process in sheep.

I think it can be hard to express our views sometimes, because we know that there are folks on here, who we like, respect and don't want to upset, using techniques that perhaps we have some qualms about.

I thought it might be easier to collect views if it was anonymous, so I was going to do a poll.  But it's really not so simple that it can be expressed in yes/no one-liners.

So I wondered about starting a thread, encouraging people to write statements about AI in sheep - one view per post, if you can - and then folks can use the 'Like' button to anonymously agree with statements that chime with them.

And of course, also chip in with their views if they are happy to express them!
« Last Edit: October 21, 2015, 10:45:31 am by SallyintNorth »
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: AI and other breeding interventions in sheep - views
« Reply #1 on: October 21, 2015, 10:43:39 am »
Statement - please click 'Like' if you agree


          I worry about our sheep breeds becoming subfertile


Note, this statement may or may not be the view of the author. 
« Last Edit: October 21, 2015, 10:45:55 am by SallyintNorth »
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: AI and other breeding interventions in sheep - views
« Reply #2 on: October 21, 2015, 10:47:06 am »
Statement - please click 'Like' if you agree


          I have no issue with the use of hormones to regulate ovulation


Note, this statement may or may not be the view of the author. 
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: AI and other breeding interventions in sheep - views
« Reply #3 on: October 21, 2015, 10:47:41 am »
Statement - please click 'Like' if you agree


          I have reservations about the use of invasive AI


Note, this statement may or may not be the view of the author. 
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: AI and other breeding interventions in sheep - views
« Reply #4 on: October 21, 2015, 10:48:08 am »
Statement - please click 'Like' if you agree


          I have no issue with the use of AI, whether invasive or not


Note, this statement may or may not be the view of the author. 
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: AI and other breeding interventions in sheep - views
« Reply #5 on: October 21, 2015, 10:48:32 am »
Statement - please click 'Like' if you agree


          I have no issue with the use of non-invasive AI


Note, this statement may or may not be the view of the author. 
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: AI and other breeding interventions in sheep - views
« Reply #6 on: October 21, 2015, 10:49:27 am »
Statement - please click 'Like' if you agree


          I have no issue with the use of non-invasive AI provided hormonal ovulation control is not used


Note, this statement may or may not be the view of the author. 
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: AI and other breeding interventions in sheep - views
« Reply #7 on: October 21, 2015, 10:52:22 am »
Statement - please click 'Like' if you agree


I accept that some of our rare breeds are kept going by small sheepkeepers, many of whom work away from the holding, which means I view the use of hormones and non-invasive AI as a necessary evil



Note, this statement may or may not be the view of the author. 
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: AI and other breeding interventions in sheep - views
« Reply #8 on: October 21, 2015, 10:54:19 am »
Statement - please click 'Like' if you agree


Whilst accepting that some of our rare breeds are kept going by small sheepkeepers, many of whom work away from the holding, and therefore viewing the use of hormones and non-invasive AI as a necessary evil, I would prefer to see such methods used only where there is such justification, and not as a routine



Note, this statement may or may not be the view of the author. 
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: AI and other breeding interventions in sheep - views
« Reply #9 on: October 21, 2015, 10:58:15 am »
Statement - please click 'Like' if you agree


I would prefer to see any methods which interfere with the ewe's natural cycle used only where there is substantial justification - for instance, where a breed is close to lost, and/or highly inbred, and there is limited semen available to meet the needs of the breed rescue / improvement programme



Note, this statement may or may not be the view of the author. 
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: AI and other breeding interventions in sheep - views
« Reply #10 on: October 21, 2015, 11:00:37 am »
Statement - please click 'Like' if you agree


I think it's a good thing to spread the use of a good tup as widely as is consistent with the aims of the breed improvement programme and/or good breeding practise



Note, this statement may or may not be the view of the author. 
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: AI and other breeding interventions in sheep - views
« Reply #11 on: October 21, 2015, 11:01:23 am »
Statement - please click 'Like' if you agree


People should keep their noses out of how other people are managing their sheep and their breeding



Note, this statement may or may not be the view of the author. 
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: AI and other breeding interventions in sheep - views
« Reply #12 on: October 21, 2015, 11:02:10 am »
Statement - please click 'Like' if you agree


AI is used in cattle all the time, this is no different



Note, this statement may or may not be the view of the author. 
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: AI and other breeding interventions in sheep - views
« Reply #13 on: October 21, 2015, 11:03:51 am »
Statement - please click 'Like' if you agree


It is counter-productive to make sheepkeepers who need to use these techniques feel uncomfortable about them



Note, this statement may or may not be the view of the author. 
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

Foobar

  • Joined Mar 2012
  • South Wales
Re: AI and other breeding interventions in sheep - views
« Reply #14 on: October 21, 2015, 11:15:31 am »
Sounds like you are trying to cover a lot of topics in one thread!

I don't see any problem with the use of hormones to regulate ovulation (i.e. the sponge) (it's no different to the human Pill really is it?).  It's not an invasive procedure (having been for my smear test this morning I think a wee sponge is nothing! :) ), although I'm not so keen on using PMSG to bring ovulation forward when the animal was not already ovulating; I think you are just fighting nature then, which is never a good thing. 

Synchronising breeding can improve welfare throughout pregnancy in terms of feeding appropriately, and at lambing, in terms of there being someone there to deal with any problems.

I don't agree with bringing on labour just for our own convenience.

I don't see a problem with AI where enormous genetic progress can be made in a short time in order to improve the health of the species, or to save rare breeds.  I don' t know enough about AI to know the difference between invasive and non-invasive; obviously the less invasive the better :) .  Certainly we shouldn't be doing AI just for our own convenience, but as it's expensive I think ppl who use AI must have a good reason for it?   It's been used for ages in pigs and cattle, although I don't know how the anatomy differs between them and sheep, I assume it's harder to AI sheep?

I'm not sure I see much difference in the motivations between AI and non AI breeding - commercial farmers are always going to try to breed an animal that will make them as much money as possible.  The AI process just accelerates that programme.  Whether they are breeding for the right traits is another matter, and not one that is restricted to the subject of AI.

 

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