When it comes to breeding sows, timing is everything. And when it comes to equipment a breeder should choose the type of rod that fits their comfort level.

Sounds simple, right? Yet there are many factors that affect the type of rod a breeder can choose. Showpig.com visited with D.J. Sanders, sales manager for Reproductive Provisions, to get the scoop on what to use and when.

Sanders is a veteran swine breeder, breeding up to 40 sows on his own operation, Sanders Showpigs, Chalmers, Ind. He and his wife, Amara, raised the 5^th Overall Breeding Gilt at the Indiana State Fair last year. As sales manager for Reproductive Provisions D.J. also supplies the majority of all products to collect and extend boar semen to ship all over the country as well as anything that deals with A.I. products and procedures.

He says breeders select rods based on how they learned, either spirettes or foam tip catheters (FTC). Spirettes are most like a natural boar’s penis and provide a reverse thread, that turns left going in and locks into the cervix of the sow. It’s easy to tell if a spirette is in the right position and when it isn't, the sow will reposition it naturally herself.

When an FTC is inserted, there is no spin but rather the person will push the catheter forward then place slight pressure on the catheter. The sow will push the FTC back and put the catheter where she wants it.

“People struggle with FTC on where they’re at in the sows cervix,” Sanders says. “To me, if I’m going to breed traditionally I’d use a spirette because I think it’s more natural to the sow. She will lock down tighter on it and there will be less flowback. But some breeders like FTC because it’s easier.”

An older generation may prefer spirettes because they probably learned to breed with this type of traditional rod. However, there is a newer technology that Sanders would swear by and encourages his customers to choose once they are comfortable with it.

Post Cervical Artificial Insemination (PCAI) is a method of IUI where an inner cannul is inserted inside the catheter to allow the instrument to pass through the cervix and place semen farther into the uterine track. PCAI means less backflow during and after insemination because the breeder would insert the catheter into the intercannal and pull back two to three inches.

This method has been used for several years by commercial swine operations and only for show pig sows in the last three years. PCAI means fewer sperm cells are needed because semen is deposited closer to the uterine horns. The procedure also takes less time after the catheter is placed into the uterine body.

PCAI is also referred to as IUI and Sanders says there is no difference between the two terms. His company has done its homework and researched how to make rods that accomplish the task of getting a sow bred quickly and safely. FTC are used to perform PCAI and it’s very uncommon for spirettes to be used for deep rod insemination.

“In a traditional breeding you have to wait for sows to use their muscles in the uterus,” Sanders says. “You apply slight pressure and let her take the semen in on her own. There is more run back in traditional breeding. That’s where PCAI is a better procedure because you’re placing semen in the body of the uterus. You just apply pressure and deposit the semen and don't really have to rely on her to take it all in.”

For the past two years, Jesse Heimer, owner of Heimer Hampshires, Taylor, Missouri, has used PCAI over traditional spirette rods in his breeding program. Timing is everything and anything that can be done to place semen in the exact spot will increase a sow’s chances of conception. Heimer says, with confidence, that conception rates are much higher, particularly on problematic sows or those with farrowing complications.

“I think the biggest advantage is the piece of mind knowing you’re delivering semen closer to the destination,” Heimer says. “I am trying to eliminate some risk of where it might go otherwise. PCAI is a new technology that has given us a new tool to get those sows bred.

When a breeder utilizes PCAI cleanliness is a must. The advantage of this method is that for those sows who are hard breeders or have damage from farrowing or have cysts, the spirette in PCIA will bypass the cervix or a blood cyst. PCAI catheters go six to nine inches farther into the female reproductive tract and semen still has to be inserted into the uterine horns. Sanders says show pig semen runs between two and four billion sperm cells on average at 85-100 milliliters per dose. This means it will take fewer boars and less semen to get the same results.

“People want to blame it on the boar stud or the semen when a sow doesn’t stick but it’s not always that,” Sanders says. “We miss sows daily for no rhyme or reason, it just happens. Maybe it’s the technique, how we bred the sows. The boar studs are trying to implement the best possible technology they can to try and give us the best possible dose they can. Therefore, I feel that if breeders implement the best technology we can maybe we could have better success.”

There are plenty of breeders who want to stick with traditional spirette methods of breeding. One of those is Tracey Lorenzen. This Chrisman, Ill. native breeds 150 head of purebred Yorkshires and believes in the method because it’s comfortable for him.

“I guess it’s because I’m old but I just know how it works and in all honesty it’s the consistency and the procedure,” Lorenzen says. “Most of the time they settle but that’s always due to timing and other things too. I might consider trying something different at some point. I have started using FTC instead of plugs on my gilts but on the sows I still go with spirettes.”

Sanders refers to the anatomy of a sow and the distance sperm must travel to get to the follicles. He says the uterine body is located between the cervix and the uterine horn, which means 32 to 46 inches in a gilt and 47 to 52 inches in a sow. By using PCAI to deposit semen past the cervix Sanders says a breeder has eliminated six to nine inches of distance those sperm cells would have had to travel. This method allows sperm to get straight to the oviduct and spend energy impregnating the sow rather then traveling through the cervix.

“I tell people that at my house I do believe I’ve seen better conception rate and larger litter size since implementing PCAI breeding,” Sanders says. “I’ve had some customers that call me on daily basis that made a difference in their operation.”

One disadvantage of PCAI is that it is harder to use on gilts. Sanders says PCAI requires a special catheter and he does not recommend it unless the breeder is highly skilled. The cost per insemination is also higher because the catheter is more expensive. Traditional spirettes and FTC are $0.24 each while IUI catheters are $0.39. Sanders is very willing to help breeders and has spent many hours on the phone and at farms to help them become comfortable with whatever technology they prefer.

Nearly 60-percent of commercial hog farmers utilize PCAI because it requires less semen per dose and less time. Sanders recommends to use the equipment that a breeder is most comfortable with.

“I am a high promoter of PCAI because it’s great technology,” Sanders says. “It’s like how we all used to use flip phones and now we use Smartphones because of what we can do with them. In the pig world we used to breed through the cervix, which takes more time and you have more run back, which is frustrating. I’d put two doses in a sow and she’d still come back in heat. And for these show pig guys where birth date is everything, getting that sow bred to have a January litter is the key. They can’t wait 21 days for her to come in heat. The dollar amount of that litter goes way down if the sow doesn’t settle.”