Artificial Insemination:

Together with my colleague Brian Perry (BGS Licensed Judge, successful goatbreeder & Head of Biology Dept for 30yrs) we run BGS Approved Goat AI Courses.

Please click here to see our attached syllabus.

If possible we do Section 1 early evening of day one, with Section 2 the following morning and Section 3 after lunch. Plenty of time is needed to allow all candidates to undertake the practical aspects of the course until they feel confident.

While we cover all of our syllabus in detail we also try to create an informal atmosphere which will help candidates relax and enjoy the course. We each provide a set of notes for candidates to keep for reference.

To make it easier Brian & I will visit you. If one candidate is willing to host the course and invite a few others to join in we find that works better than everybody having to be away from home which is often not possible for goatkeepers. Distance is no object and all candidates share our travelling expenses which is usually cheaper for everybody. We ran a successful and very enjoyable course in Ireland for the Irish Goat Producers Association in Sept 2006 and are off again to the Emerald Isle in Nov 2008.

Since our first course at the home of Jane Miller’s Charnocks Herd (Lancs) Mch ’05 we have trained many new inseminators at various locations around the UK, including some vets, and are thrilled when we hear of their successes. Recently commercial goatkeepers have started taking an interest too. One commercial course has taken place in 2008 and others are in the pipeline. AI is a valuable and affordable breeding tool for all goatkeepers. Courses for Golden Guernsey breeders were popular in 2009. We held one at Streatley in Berks for five GG goatkeepers and another on the Channel Island of Guernsey for 15 goatkeepers. Our largest group to date. Candidates came from Guernsey, Jersey & Sark + two very keen GG breeders from South Wales!

In 2010 another well supported course took place in Rowington, Warks.

For 2011 a course is in the pipeline at the Plumpton College of Agriculture in Oct/Nov.

And I may even get to the furthest location yet to run one in Trinidad. Watch this space!

My Yahoo *Goat-AI* online group is available for any inseminator who would like to join in and there are members from around the world to share info with. Brian & I are also available any time for ongoing support to chat about AI topics.

At the 2008 RABDF *Dairy Event & Livestock Show* the BGS ran a Commercial Goat Display: http://www.dairyevent.co.uk/news/commercial-goat-exhibition-launched

http://community.webshots.com/user/goatgenetics (Dairy Event photo album).

This included AI demos. With help from my glamourous assistant ( a “Willowbank” pure Toggenburg!) interested visitors were able to peer down a speculum and see for themselves what I was talking about. I also hope to give a short presentation on Goat AI at the RABDF’s Farm Walk on Nov 26th 2008: http://www.rabdf.co.uk/training-and-events/forthcoming-events/commercial-goat-farm-walk-discussion

All items required for goat AI can be supplied. These include the very successful and popular *Slim-Line* speculums & lights imported from the USA. Much easier to use than the old-fashioned metal duckbill speculum and very much more comfortable for the goats. http://www.slimlineai.com/index1.html

Liquid nitrogen tanks can be supplied to order and I can also help you set up a top-up service at the best price available. Please get in touch if you would like any further details about anything connected with goat AI.

Please contact me for current availability/price of frozen semen. In addition to semen for export I also stock a small selection of frozen semen for domestic use in the UK including Golden Guernsey. This stock is constantly changing so please email or phone for the latest news.