Goats, Anyone?

Doe ready for insemination

     Last week, Char Farin and her colleague Bill Knox, came down from Raleigh, NC with a box of dry ice and a bunch of “straws” filled with goat semen. Char is a reproductive physiologist and professor at North Carolina State. She and Bill came to Christianville to artificially inseminate the goats. A few weeks ago, Eric (see 10-28-13 post) had come down from NC to inject the does with hormones to synchronize them for the breeding. Now the does were ready and Char and Bill were here with the tools for artificial insemination. They are breeding crosses of Nubian and Boer. The cross is for fast growth, tolerance to hot weather climate, and carcass quality. The plan is to breed a good goat for meat in Haiti. It’s genetics!

Char inseminates a doe

     I wanted to see how artificial insemination was done so I wandered down to the goat pen in back of the guesthouse one Saturday morning and found Char and Bill already at work. Bill had a Dunkin Donuts thermos full of hot water and all the instruments they needed laid out on a table in the space between two pens. A doe is brought in from one pen, a “straw” is taken from the box of dry ice, warmed, and connected to a pediatric catheter. They inseminate the doe and move the doe to the opposite pen. Then the next doe is brought in and the process is repeated. It takes about 10 minutes per doe. Char and Bill are good at artificial insemination of goats. They even teach a short course in it at NC State: Goat Artificial Insemination & Breeding Management Short Course. (http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/ncsugoatAI/CourseInfo2.html). It is a three-day course and is next offered in August 2014. Register now!

Char inseminates a doe

Bill prepares a "straw"

     After they finished inseminating the does, Char asked Meer if she could use a microscope in the lab to check her goat semen. They looked fine she told us. Char always packs a few extras, so before leaving she asked, “Do you guys want a few straws of goat semen?” Eh, no.




     With so many goats in Haiti, why is there no goat milk or cheese? Char had a simple answer: refrigeration. A dairy “industry” larger than a single household requires refrigeration. And refrigeration requires electricity. So there are lots of goats in Haiti but no fromage de chevre.

Bill inseminates a doe