Intrafollicular insemination for the treatment of infertility in the dairy cow

Intrafollicular insemination (IFI) is based on direct introduction of a sperm suspension into a preovulatory follicle. To our knowledge, the first cases of IFI resulting in pregnancy of the cow are reported here. The experiment was performed on a dairy herd with low fertility during the warm season of the year. Following the sequence of estrus detection, one in three inseminations was intrafollicular (n = 17), whereas deposition of semen was performed into the uterine body (IUI) in the remaining cows (n = 33). Approximately 0.06 ml of a seminal dose containing five million spermatozoa (one quarter of a commercial seminal dose in a 0.25 ml French straw) was injected trans-vaginally into the preovulatory follicle in the IFI group. Four (23.5%) and 3 (9%) cows of the IFI and IUI groups, respectively, became pregnant. On days 8–11 post-insemination, ovulation failure was registered in 3 (18%) and in 4 (12%) cows of the IFI and IUI groups, respectively. Our results suggest that IFI could be used as an alternative procedure to the usual deposition of semen into the uterus in cows of low fertility.