AI providers - Recommendations please

[Mark Bowles]

Does anyone know of an Ai provider in the midlands that would travel into Leicestershire and do the job at a reasonable price while providing a proper service to the end user.
Genus seem too big for us small timers,their storage does seem high for just a few straws.
We do have a local company but they only work mornings in the summer and have yet to prove themselves with our herd,
no hits out of 4 services, one of which was twice in a 24hr period.We do have 3 bulls at the moment but i really wanted to use certain AI bulls on certain cows.
Maybe i ought to go on a course and set myself up on DIY.
mARK

[Jo Kemp]

Each bull's semen has a different time limit and so does each cow (teaching my granny here but someone may not know) usually if you see a cow being mounted in the evening the AI is administered am the next day but if seen in the morning - it should be popped iin that same day. A local firm only works if the AI chap(pess) can be flexible and come when needed. In my experience, Genus has been very good and any problems we had were due to the cow (missed year for one and cyst for another). The 'missed' cow had AI on 2 consecutive days - the first earlier than usually applied and the second as usual but with semen from a different bull - the latter took.
Even a bull misses sometimes, weather plays a part I think also time of year; I think the cows are inclined to have shorter heats in late autumn/winter.
I shall be going back to AI in a year or two so we'll see whether my theories are correct!
Jo
On balance a£5 per month for storage is pretty well OK and that is Genus' rate up to 100 I think

[debra wiltshire]

Hi Mark,
We have used Central Breeders once before with good results..they are in Normanton Le Heath, Leicester so you may know of them already. Unfortunately they do not now come out to us on the Lincs/Leics border so we too are looking for a new 'technician'
debra(Petal has just become a mum again