Question for those that AI

[firesweepranch]

Would a slight electrical pulse in the thermos when thawing semen affect fertility (in other words, kill the sperm)?  ???
When I went to set up to AI the other day, I put my fingers in the water to pull the thermometer to verify the temp was good for us to thaw, and noticed a slight electrical pulse (our electric fence charger is obviously not grounded as well as we thought!). Our conception rates were the poorest ever in the fall, which we blamed on the drought. So far this year, we have had 4 cows that we AI'd come back in for round two. Some of those were on calf heats, and one was bred with sexed semen.
I unplugged the fence charger before I thawed this round (at which the pulsing stopped), just in case.

 

[cpubarn]

There have  been discussions on AC thawing units before.  Do a search as it was some time ago.

I believe many have had some trouble, stray voltage of a couple of different types...

Mark

 

[frostback]

YES, a electric pulse will kill semen. Just unplug the unit when you put it in and take the straw out. Therefor no grounding. It may have nothing to do with the fence just a short or such in the unit. As long as it is the right temp it can still be used just unplug it when the straw is in there.

 

[firesweepranch]

Thanks Mark, I went back and searched and found it. Sounds like my concerns are VALID!!! I told my husband and daughter (we all three AI) that we are to unplug the fence before thawing (last night), but after reading that and Frostback's suggestion I just told everyone we unplug the thermos instead!
We moved our fence charger to the garage this last summer so it is out of the elements, and our thermos plugs into the same wall set of plugs. Our freezer, which is plugged into the same outlet, sometimes buzzes with a slight tingle also. Looking back, our conception rates dropped after that. I will have to watch closely from here out.

Just In Time had made a note that he was unplugging his unit and would look at his conception rates after, how did that compare JIT???

 

[Cowboy]

To go a little further, I personally always take one of those little volt meters with me on road trips to make sure I am geting "GOOD JUICE" !
It is submersable and is designed for testing water systems! Good tool to have


Once, I had went to a place and plugged n my thaw unit - set for embryo temp - and just happened to take out the temp tester to look at it and noticed a pretty good tingle. Come to find out, his light pole cercuitry was not grounded very well, and some volts were getting thru. Ever since then, I either take my own battery unit, or test the system for sure. This is a very valid concern, and will not only kill semen, but will also severely damage if not kill embryos.

Good point to remember ---

Good breeding folks - Terry

 

[CCW]

When I started AIng I bought the electric thaw unit and started breeding cows without much luck. Very low conception rates and thinking back the only ones I ever got bred was when I thawed a straw in the cow. I was about to give up on AIng when I read Hook's post about thaw units shocking the semen. I started unplugging my unit right before putting semen in and then plugging back up after semen is removed. My conception rates have went way up to around 70% the last couple of years. Don't know if this was all of the reason for my increased success rate but it sure isn't hurting.

 

[CAB]

To change the subject a little FSR, you may want to have an electrician come to ck out your electrical system just to be on the safe side.

 

[firesweepranch]

So, an update. Another cow came into heat this morning (bred twice already), so had to AI again. My wonderful daughter came up with an idea to use the fence tester to check if there was an electrical pulse in the thermos, so we plunked it in the water and guess what? It is pushing 0.2 KV! Our fence runs around 6 to 7 KV, so that is quiet a little zap those little sperms are getting! We kept the fence tester in and plugged/unplugged the fence charger and that is what is causing the electrical current in the thermos.
So we unplugged the thermos before thawing the straw. We will see in 21 days how it goes!

Oh, and CAB, we are going to call the electrician back out. We just had this house built two years ago, and we need to hook up for a switch to run on a generator if we have a power outage... THANKS!

 

[farmboy]

my armpit doesn't give off any electricity.

 

[firesweepranch]

my armpit doesn't give off any electricity.

(thumbsup) ;D Are you saying you "pocket thaw"? We have thought of that, but I am just afraid to take that step! Of course, the ONE of 2 AI calves that actually stuck in the fall was the result of a pocket thaw! Go figure...

 

[farmboy]

its better than electrocuting the goods and not worrying about water temp and stray voltage.

 

[husker1]

This is a very valid post that we all need to consider....lots of times simple little things can make a big difference...It's got me thinking, that's for sure...

 

[hntwhitetail]

Anyone notice a difference after unpluggin the thaw unit before putting the semen in and plugging it back in after you take it out?

 

[firesweepranch]

Man, this thread is OLD! We have changed a bunch since this incidence...

We do what you just said if we are AIing more than one head. If not, we just unplug before we put the straw in, and leave it unplugged until the next time we breed. We have since built a barn, and have a table with electric right next to the chute.... so a much better set up now. However, with all we lost that year, I will forever unplug the thermos before dropping the straw of semen in. Works great, and our conception is great.