Gaerllwyd Norris #S10979 and Gaerllwyd Mustard #S10149 were chosen because of their heritage. The majority of ewes on St. Kilda are polled or scurred and Gaerllwyd Flocks is one of the very few farms in the UK that continues to breed for these traits.  While Norris and Mustard’s fathers were normal horned both of their mothers were polled and Mustard’s grandsire (dam’s side) was scurred. Further Norris’s great-grandfather had been born in Village Bay on Hirta and both had self color (no white) in their backgrounds. These two were also chosen because of their mild manner and even temperaments and were used to being handled, something Christine had learned were important for dealing with the stress of semen collection.

                                   
                                           Mustard and Norris leave for Innovis November 2006

A few weeks before they were to leave both rams were put into small paddocks at home with a few "wives" to stimulate their desire to breed. Then on a late November afternoon they were driven to Innovis Breeding Solutions near Malvern, England an hour or so from the farm. There they settled into small immaculate stalls and were allowed to rest and adjust. After a few days of recovery, the process began.

     
                           the barn                                                preparing the artificial vagina
     Most of Innovis' business is collecting semen from high producing commercial breeds from local farmers, but they                                           also serve the RBST gene archive and overseas clients as well

At the other end of their barn was the collection area. A quiet teaser ewe had been brought into estrus with hormones and was stanchioned at the far end of the pen.  Before the ram was brought to the ewe, a technician warmed the artificial vagina by filling an outer pocket with hot water so that the ram would not detect a difference and refuse to jump.

                         
                            The day we visited in the summer a commercial ram's semen was being collected

She patiently stood beside both animals and at the appropriate moment put the vagina in place to capture the sperm. Having done this repeatedly, she was very good at it. The ram was returned to his pen and the specimen (in a small cup that was in the bottom of the vagina) was immediately taken to a laboratory directly across from the barn.

                     
                                                                 A diluted smear is rated for mobility

Under a microscope a smear was checked for mobility. To the untrained eye it appeared as a whirling kaleidoscope of fluid. A second diluted slide was prepared and with this the individual sperm became visible. Based on its mobility the semen was rated (1-5 5 being best) and if it passed it was placed in a small refrigerator for several hours to slowly cool.  Later that was transferred to a machine which loaded ¼ cc straws with a single dose.for insemination. The date, a UK code, breed and RBST Combined Flock Book number were imprinted on the side of the straw for later identification.

              
                   Breed and RBST Combined Flock Book registration number S10979  Gaerllwyd Norris
      
                    
                                                      Note storage tank to the right of the loading machine

Once filled the straws were placed in the first of two freezers; the first to flash freeze and the second to deep freeze. When the temperature was low enough the straws were removed and hung inside a liquid nitrogen tank where they would be stored indefintely until they were shipped or used.

After producing successfully for the RBST and NSP/NISP semen archive projects Norris and Mustard were moved to Innovis's export barn where they produced 98 and 52 straws respectively for America. (The USDA requires collection must be done in an export barn.) Their work complete the boys returned home in January. Both were blood tested twenty-one days later and when they passed the straws were approved for export to the States.

         
                                                     British Soay ewes in Oregon

                                                     Part II  America

On July 3, 2007 my phone rang in Merlin.  “The semen is in Oregon”, the bubbly voice on the other end of the line said. Martin, serving as import broker, had taken delivery of the tank when it cleared customs the day before. That night there was celebration on both sides of the pond. But we were still only half way there; none of our efforts would matter until we had lambs on the ground in the spring of 2008.

In the summer of 2007 Steven Weaver joined the project, sharing expenses and his expertise on how to most wisely use the semen on our ewes.  We met to plot our strategy. I had been told the ideal candidate for AI was between two and five years old, had lambed naturally and ideally had had twins. We went through both of our flocks and each selected ten ewes and two alternates and we set the date with Martin for November 2. The trick now was to synchronize all of ewes so they cycled at the same time on the same day. We were given a plan. On October 17 our vet came to each farm and inserted hormonal sponges in the vagina of each ewe. Two weeks later on October 31 those were removed early in the morning (we were each given a very specific time) and each ewe was also given an injection of PMS-G (hormone). Exactly twenty four hours prior to Martin’s arrival we took the ewes off all feed and water as a full rumen and bladder could hinder locating the uterus.  

         
       Mustard and Norris wait in the tank                                             The first ewe is prepped
               Steve Werblow photo                                                           Steve Werblow photo
When he was set up in the barn the first ewe was placed on her back on a rolling laproscopy cradle. In this position her belly was shaved, swabbed with betadine, she was given an anesthetic and rolled over to Martin who took over.  He tilted the cradle in its upright surgical position (a 40 degree angle) and made two small incisions, one for a manipulating probe used to bring the uterus into the proper position for insemination and one for the endoscope. A frozen straw was removed from the tank to thaw in a water bath (98.6-100.4 F) for two or three minutes and once he could see the uterus was in the correct position, the probe was removed and replaced by the inseminating gun which contained the straw with the semen at the tip.  Viewing the two horns of the uterus through the scope he strategically placed the end of the gun on one and pushed the plunger which forced an inseminating needle to pierce the uterine wall and inject the semen.This was repeated with the second horn. The the gun and probe were then removed, the incisions were stapled closed and the very hungry ewe was released to a stall for food and water. Eating within just a few minutes was critical so everyone carefully watched to make sure the ewe was eating before the second one was processed.  When all ten had been inseminated they were released to a paddock with food and water and kept isolated from the rest of the flock for forty-five days to ensure they settled.

 
         Looking through the endoscope the inseminating needle at the bottom of the gun is strategically placed so
                that it punctures the uterine horn and the semen is injected directly into the lumen of the the uterus.
                         Just two days after completing 8 weeks of radiation I was overwhelmed with joy.
                                                                                  Steve Werblow Photo

                                                    Three Months later

        The suspense was killing me and when the vet came for my annual winter farm call she brought her ultrasound to see if we could see if any of the ewes had taken. At least three, the three youngest, were pregnant. But it would be another two months before lambing and we had a final answer.  Success rates with AI in sheep can be quite low and no one had ever done this with Soay, we were making history. To our amazement 6 out of 10 ewes on each farm lambed and between them produced 22 lambs, including three sets of triplets, a rarity in Soay Sheep. A few weeks later, Christine’s lambs began to arrive in Wales, Mustard and Norris now had offspring on both sides of the Atlantic.

    
  Artificially inseminated lambs in America              their naturally inseminated half siblings in Wales

It is too early to know what the new genetics have brought to the flock, it may be several generations before we do, but many of the lambs have a different look about them and one of them may already have sired a self dark lamb in the spring in 2009.  Stay tuned we are just beginning.

                                                        For  more information

on sales of foreign and domestic sheep semen and laparoscopic AI (artificial insemination) services. Visit  http://www.toprams.com/

on Soay Sheep and Gaerllwyd Flocks in Wales visit http://www.gaerllwyd.co.uk/

on the RBST National Genetic Archive
"A Rare Collection", The ARK, The magazine of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, Autumn 2009

or visit their website at:
http://www.rbst.org.uk/regeneration/main