Fertility and embryonic livability as influenced by depth of insemination of turkey hens.
In two separate artificial insemination trials with individually caged breeder turkeys, semen release in the oviduct at depths of 3.0 and 7.5 cm from the exterior surface of the relaxed vent were compared. In the first trial, 7.5 cm. insemination at two-week intervals produced significantly higher (82.3 vs 78.5%) fertility and lower embryonic mortality (16.8 vs 20.2%) than the 3.0 cm. depth. In the second trial, insemination at three-week intervals, 7.5 cm. depth also produced significantly higher (79.2 vs 73.9%) fertility and lower embryonic mortality 11.2 vs 15.6%). The net gain in reproduction efficiency due to the combined effects was 6% in Trial 1 and 8% in Trial 2.
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D007315:Insemination, Artificial / Q000662:veterinary*; D010057:Oviducts / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D014422:Turkeys / Q000196:embryology / Q000502:physiology*