Relation between Semen Quality and Fertilizing Ability of White Holland Turkeys

LOW fertility is often a baffling and costly problem in turkey breeding operations. It has been suggested that turkey males are the chief offenders because of complete or near sterility. Fertility tends to decrease rather rapidly as the breeding season progresses, particularly in out-of-season hatching, suggesting changes in the physiological activity of the male reproductive System. Although research has been conducted to determine semen production and quality in the chicken, there is practically no information available on the quality of turkey semen. Parker (1947), however, has shown that spermatogenesis in the turkey, as measured by number of spermatozoa per collection, continued to increase from January until late March, after which time there was some decline. Considerable seasonal variation in semen production of the chicken has been reported by Parker and McSpadden (1942), Parker (1943), and Wheeler and Andrews (1943). In general, the reports of these workers and others show that …