The Identification of Bacteria Contaminating Collected Semen and the Use of Antibiotics in Their Control

ARTIFICIAL insemination of turkeys is an established practice in the turkey industry. At the present time, this practice for turkeys is only a substitute for deficient mating. When methods for diluting and storing turkey semen can be developed, it will be possible to dispense semen over many more females than is possible with undiluted semen. Several papers have been reported on bacterial contamination of chicken semen (De Muelenaere and Quicke, 1958; Smith, 1949; Wilcox and Shorb, 1958). Although it has been assumed that similar conditions exist in turkey semen, such documentation is lacking. The presence of bacteria in semen and their multiplication probably result in deterioration of semen samples in vitro. Likewise, the presence of bacteria in turkey semen would influence the results of metabolic studies on spermatozoa. This study was undertaken to gain information concerning the extent of bacterial contamination, type of organisms present, sensitivity of such organisms to …