Effect of Frequency of Semen Collection on Fertility, Hatchability and Spermatozoa Concentration in the Turkey

THE increased interest in the practice of artificial insemination by turkey hatching egg producers to improve the reproductive efficiency of their flocks has resulted in many unanswered problems. These problems must be solved in order to increase the efficiency of artificial breeding and to make sound recommendations to flock owners employing this practice in their breeding program. Since the volume of semen obtained from turkey males at any one time is relatively small, varying from barely measurable amounts to slightly more than 0.3 ml. (Carson et al., 1955; and McCartney, 1956), information was needed to determine the effect of collection frequency on quantity of semen and fertilizing capacity. Lorenz et al. (1955) studied the effect of collection frequency on the quantity of semen produced by turkey males and found that the volume of semen decreased gradually during the first week of daily collection; however, this decrease in volume had no . . .