Cornified cells.

In the interest of being as self sufficient as possible, i have bought equipment so that i can store my own straws. That equipment doubles for so many other things... like taking smears and looking for cornified cells to determine a bitches peak estrus.

Here are some photos id like to share, comments, concerns, and critiques welcome.

This was day 5 of the heat.... some red blood cells still present the nuceli on the parabasal cells is shrinking and the stipling is disappearing. She is getting close!
http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/w...psa54f595a.jpg

Day 7... we can see the parabasal cells have become very angular, cornified, the nuclei have almost completely disappeared. The bitch is ready to breed... ai in this case.
http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps84edf339.jpg

The pictures were taken with my cell phone sorry if they arent clear enough. i dont have a cam that hooks up to my scope.


The procedure is quite simple... i strap the bitch into a breeding stand so she is still, i then place a long q tip up into her vulva and into the cervix, i then press it against a wall and rotate it. Taking that sample i roll it across a slide applying pressure. A few drops of water on top of the sample and a cover slip over it. One drop of methelyne blue dye next to the cover slip and use a paper towel to pull the water from under the slide and wick the dye through so the cells can become colored. Put it under the scope and see what u got.

Hope this showed u how easy it can be to determine a bitches peak estrus by yourself.