My girl is on day one today and last time around she was bred on day 12 and 14 which of course will fall on a weekend.
I would like to use Minitube but have a question. The stud owner has not used it before. Is it user friendly or is it best to take my chances with an extender that she feels more comfortable using?

the Chill 5 is about as easy as it gets. Piece of cake and the results have been great with my shipments so far. It's very SIMPLE.

I heard that learning to do the egg can be a bit of a challenge........

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Replying to:

the Chill 5 is about as easy as it gets. Piece of cake and the results have been great with my shipments so far. It's very SIMPLE.

The egg is for the 10 day extender

I watched the 5 day being done, it was as easy as it gets, Laura is correct!!!

Can you explain the Chill 5 protocol for those that use it? I went to the seminar at LRCP, ordered the info packet from minitube and still am not comfortable. Maybe it is just a 'watch it done thing' or all the data between the 5 day and 10 day that makes my head spin. I currently use camelot and clone, so know how to extend semen traditionally.

So for those who have used the Chill 5, did you collect the stud two days in a row and send it in one box or do it traditionally with two separate boxes?

MiniTube extender makes everything easier because you can ship in advance.

If you send me your email address I'd be happy to send you the information on shipping semen using MiniTube extender that we send out to our Happy Hands clients.

I warmed up the CaniPro5 extender to room temperature. I then collected just the second fraction which is only 1 - 2 mLs. Then you simply add the extender at the correct ratio (I think it varies 1:2 - 1:4 if I remember). I shipped the same way as CLONE kits but you could ship two days in a row and the person on the receiving end can inseminate when necessary.

I just received a shipment with the CaniPro5 over the weekend. I got it early on Saturday and put it in the fridge. I then took it out on Sunday and inseminated cold - no warming up at all. Sperm look sluggish at first under the scope but they warm up and swim.

They actually give you enough extender with one shipping box to use for two shipments if you only collect the 2nd fraction so you can order two boxes and only one bottle of extender and save money.

The idea of the 5 day extender is great for weekends and especially holiday weekends when there is no service in or out on a Monday. It's also great to have when needed if the bitch has odd seasons or if the stud dog owner is going on vacation (God forbid!) .

Sharon, can you please clarify for me....

You said when you put the swimmers in the fridge, when you went to do the AI they looked sluggish at first. You did the AI immediately???? it was still cold??? but they warmed up and started to swim.

Would it be better to let them warm up a bit, or insert and let them warm up inside the bitch???

TIA

Minitube says to inseminate right out of the box/fridge as the collection will warm up and get going inside the bitch. Why warm up first and then inseminate?

The slide begins to warm up on the scope due to the light beneath. As the slide warms so does the small aliquot on the slide and thus the sluggish suspended sperm then wake up and begin to swim. This is what happens inside the bitch.

Thank you

The Chill 5 does NOT use egg. The Chill 10 does. The Chill 5 is very simple to use, and because it is never frozen is much easier to use, store and carry on the road. I have been shipping (even Internationally for Denmark and Italy and France) with the Chill 5 with great success. I have started collecting two days in a row and shipping both tubes in the same box on the second day. It saves time, expense and effort for both parties. I warm the extender to room temp, centrifuge the semen, so there is almost no prostatic or pre-ejaculate, and send it. Nothing to add on the other end with the insemination either. What could be simpler.

Can you tell me the price to buy the kits? I looked at their website a couple of weeks ago and do not recall seeing any prices, but may have missed it.
Thanks
Julia

We tried the minitube for the first time. My vet, who is just a local vet as the closest repro vet is 3 hours away; I believe may have used too much extender??? and at the arriving end it appeared to have like a dna looking strand in it. Has anyone experienced this?

"I believe may have used too much extender??? and at the arriving end it appeared to have like a dna looking strand in it. "

Why do you think they used too much extender? If they collected too much they had to add a lot of extender but that should be okay. It's best to ship only that 2nd fraction but collecting a few mLs of the 3rd fraction and shipping is usually fine.

DNA looks like a clear viscous strip of slime - like a loooong boogie (excuse the terminology ) - this can happen to sperm however a hypotonic solution (salt) is used to lyse the cell walls to release the DNA. Without something to stop the DNA from spooling and clumping it will be a long strand as well. Maybe something else was added by mistake? Extender would not do this even in a large amount.

I'm curious as to what would happen to the quality of semen when doing a chilled semen if the stud dog owner collected ALL the fractions, added the extender and shipped ?

When a bitch is bred naturally, a stud dog deposits all the fractions inside her and the semen go on to do their job.

Semen is meant to swim in prostatic fluid--not live long periods of time in it. That is the purpose of the extender--to provide nutrients for the sperm--and the chilling--to slow down the amount of energy the sperm requires. Some prostatic fluid can even be harmful to sperm if there is even a minor infection.

Ahhh.good to know and understand. Thanks Kathy !