High Fertilising Capacity of Highly Diluted Fowl Semen and Observed Differential Fertility Attributable to Breed or Strain of Dam

SATISFACTORY fertility from the use of fowl semen diluted 10 times has been reported by Bonnier and Trulsson (1939) who used Ringers solution as a diluent, by Skaller (1951) using Tyrode solution and by Weakley and Shaffner (1952) who diluted with saline. Schindler et al. (1955) reported high fertility results after using fowl semen, diluted 3 times with Ringers solution, under field conditions. Despite these encouraging reports little use is apparently made of diluted fowl semen, under field conditions, particularly at high rates of dilution although, with the increasing popularity of housing pullets for egg production in cages, the interest of commercial producers in artificial insemination has greatly increased. This neglect of a most useful technique may have been caused by a number of unfavourable reports on the use of diluted fowl semen. Munro (1938) reported poor fertility after using synthetic diluents and even when he used seminal plasma as . . .