Semen Inventory & AI Protocols
Semen Inventory
Breeding tab → 🧬 Semen Inventory
For anyone doing artificial insemination, knowing what you have and where it physically sits in the tank.
Recording Straws
| Field | |
|---|---|
| Sire | From your herd, or an external buck with name and registration |
| Breed | |
| Collection date | |
| Total straws and remaining | Remaining decrements as you use them |
| Lab | Who collected and stored it |
| Cost per straw | Feeds the real cost of an AI breeding |
| Tank, canister, cane, position | Where it physically is |
That last row is the one people skip and then regret. A tank with a dozen canisters is a bad place to go hunting with the lid open — knowing the exact position before you start means less time with liquid nitrogen exposed and less thermal damage to everything else in there.
Tanks
Tanks are recorded separately with a name, location, capacity, last nitrogen fill, and a fill interval.
A tank that runs dry ruins everything in it, silently, and you find out at breeding time. Record every top-up and set the interval conservatively — tanks lose vacuum with age and a tank that held six months last year may not this year.
Synchronization Protocols
Breeding tab → 💉 Sync & AI
Synchronization brings a group of does into heat together so they can be bred — usually AI'd — on a schedule rather than as each one cycles.
Built-In Protocols
- 5-day CIDR + prostaglandin + timed AI
- CIDR + heat detection
- Two-injection prostaglandin (in-season, no CIDR)
Each is a set of steps at defined day offsets. Apply one to a group of does with a start date and every step becomes a dated calendar reminder — CIDR in, CIDR out, injection, breed.
The timing is the whole point of these protocols. A prostaglandin injection given a day late doesn't just delay things; it can put the group out of sync entirely, which is exactly what the schedule exists to prevent.
The protocols handle scheduling. Handling semen, thawing correctly, and passing the insemination gun are learned hands-on — get someone experienced to walk you through it before your first real attempt, and talk to your vet about drug choices and doses, most of which are extra-label in goats.
Recording the Breeding
An AI breeding is recorded like any other breeding event, with the sire being the buck whose straw you used. Due dates and pedigrees follow normally, and a bought-in sire can be an external goat.