The Effect of Temperature and Time of Storage on the Fertilizing Capacity of Undiluted Fowl Semen

IN RECENT years, the practice of artificially inseminating pullets and hens has increased, both as an experimental technique and in commercial production. However, the various insemination programs have been handicapped because a satisfactory method has not yet been perfected whereby fowl semen may be held for appreciable lengths of time. It seems reasonable to assume that satisfactory conditions must exist, since it is well known that some hens lay fertile eggs for a great many days after removal of the male. Crew (1926) obtained a fertile egg 32 days after removal of the male and Munro (1938a) found that sperm remained alive in the vas deferens 26 to 28 days. The success which has been realized with the storage of bull semen serves as an inspiration to poultry investigators in seeking a suitable method for the storage of fowl semen. But in poultry insemination the semen used must be of . . .