Filling rates of the uterovaginal sperm storage glands in the turkey.
Large White turkey hens were assigned to two groups of 30 birds each and photostimulated at 32 weeks of age. Group 1 hens (nonlaying) were artificially inseminated (AI) three times prior to the onset of lay on Days 14, 15, and 16 postlighting. Group 2 hens (laying) were also inseminated three times as in Group 1, but the inseminations followed the onset of egg production on Days 23, 24, and 25 postlighting. Six hens from each group were sacrificed following the initial insemination at intervals of 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 days. Histological sections of the uterovaginal (UV) junction from each hen were made to determine filling rates of the sperm storage glands. Sperm concentrations in the UV glands of the nonlaying hens did not increase significantly beyond 24 hr post-AI. There was a significant (P less than .05) peak, however, in the number of stored spermatozoa on Day 5 post-AI in the laying hens. These results indicate that inseminations performed in the absence of oviposition and ovulation enable the UV sperm storage glands to be filled nearer their capacity with fewer inseminations.
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D007315:Insemination, Artificial / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D010058:Oviposition; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000166:cytology*; D014422:Turkeys / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D014599:Uterus / Q000166:cytology*; D014621:Vagina / Q000166:cytology*