Volume, sperm concentration, and fertilizing capacity of turkey ejaculates obtained from successive cloacal strokes during semen collection.
Ejaculate fractions (EF), obtained as the ejaculate from each of four successive cloacal strokes (EF1, EF2, EF3, and EF4, respectively), were collected manually by abdominal massage from Large White breeder turkeys. Semen volume and sperm concentration were the greatest for EF 1 and decreased with each successive fraction. Ejaculate Fraction 1 and EF (1 + 2) represented 50 and 79% of the total sperm collected, respectively. Approximately 6, 9, 10, and 11 hens could each be inseminated with 200 X 10(6) sperm from semen collected from each male using EF1, EF (1 + 2), EF (1 + 2 + 3), and EF (1 + 2 + 3 + 4), respectively. There were no differences in duration of fertility, percentage fertility, or percentage hatchability of eggs from hens inseminated with semen from EF1, EF3, and pooled control semen samples.
D000818:Animals; D002988:Cloaca / Q000502:physiology; D005298:Fertility; D007315:Insemination, Artificial / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D012661:Semen / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D013076:Sperm Count / Q000662:veterinary; D014422:Turkeys / Q000502:physiology*