I don't dare ask why....
Btec.....pig semen
- Thread starter Irene
- Start date
Quite some years ago we did rural studies GCSE (I think around 2008). One of our Biology teachers at the time was a former pig farmer and one of his most famous lessons was demonstrating the angle of the female pig's ears to show she was ready for, um....I don't dare ask why....
Anyway, he brought in a couple of pig inseminators to show the class. I should mention they are unused!!!
We do a very similar practical at our school.
We use Bull semen rather than pig (avoiding any religious problems) it is simply to look at the sperm cells under the microscope during the reproduction topic. The students find it quite an interesting exercise, after getting over the usual shrieks of hilarity and disgust!
We have found that UK Sire services are a very co-operative company to do business with. Simply google the company and you will find them pretty quick. Don't worry too much about the rather large quantities of money this premium product seems to sell for to the discerning cattle breeder.
If you phone them up and explain the situation to them - you are a school, you just want to view any old sample under the microscope etc. they should be able accommodate your needs, they have always been very friendly and understanding and have provided us with samples for several years now at a very reasonable cost.
Having done this practical exercise for a few years now I find it best to make sure the teacher controls the sample and dispenses 1 drop per slide as needed (you only get a very small sample) Also only order it in very close to when you want the class to use it, it really has a very short fridge life and does not stay motile for more than a few days.
Happy viewing.
We use Bull semen rather than pig (avoiding any religious problems) it is simply to look at the sperm cells under the microscope during the reproduction topic. The students find it quite an interesting exercise, after getting over the usual shrieks of hilarity and disgust!
We have found that UK Sire services are a very co-operative company to do business with. Simply google the company and you will find them pretty quick. Don't worry too much about the rather large quantities of money this premium product seems to sell for to the discerning cattle breeder.
If you phone them up and explain the situation to them - you are a school, you just want to view any old sample under the microscope etc. they should be able accommodate your needs, they have always been very friendly and understanding and have provided us with samples for several years now at a very reasonable cost.
Having done this practical exercise for a few years now I find it best to make sure the teacher controls the sample and dispenses 1 drop per slide as needed (you only get a very small sample) Also only order it in very close to when you want the class to use it, it really has a very short fridge life and does not stay motile for more than a few days.
Happy viewing.
Carol Taylor
Footsore
OMG what kind of ingredients?
I mean you can fake protein with egg albumin
Sugars with sucrose and/or glucose
You can even fake the UV glow with something like Germaglo or one of the other handwashing demo powders
All I'm saying is if the teacher gives the expected composition and/or test results we could fudge something together that'd look and react the part
Nothing better than a good bodge, we've done that for L3 BTEC and AL biology in our time.
We do a Forensic course and needed some "semen" for a crime scene so purchased ATP for semen identification, apparently gives a dark blue (I think) when positive. It said on some info that cauliflower water worked, it didn't. So instead of a purchase of semen we used starch as the semen and weak iodine labelled as ATP. Works a treat.
I've done the same with adding vinegar to milk died red with food colouring instead of paying a fortune for blood typing stuff
Give them tadpoles and say they are from a sample obtained from a Giant Hebridean Pig! Pigus Massiveus.