Semen Production in the Turkey Male

THE literature on semen production in chickens and turkeys has been reviewed by Parker (1949) and the extensive literature on the domestic fowl has also been reviewed by Van Drimmelen (1951). The results published by various investigators agree that turkey males produce a smaller volume of semen than chicken males (average about. 3, and .6 ml. respectively) but that the concentration of spermatozoa per unit of semen is higher for the former, hence the number of sperm per ejaculate is about the same. The number of sperm intoduced into the oviduct of the hen are related to the fertility of the eggs produced and to duration of fertility in turkeys (Lorenz, 1950; McCartney, 1954). Estimates of the number of sperm required to maintain high fertility vary considerably. Thus Parker (1946) did not detect significant differences in fertility when he made inseminations at three-week intervals with from 0.1 to 0.005 ml… .