Abstract
Aim: The present experiments were conducted (a) to evaluate the semen attributes of older Rhode Island Red (RIR) roosters and the inter-trait relationships, (b) to test sperm washing and storage duration suitable for gene transfer experiments. Materials and Methods: The semen characteristics of older RIR roosters were studied, and Pearson correlation analysis was done to demonstrate the inter-trait relationships. Progressive motility and percent live sperms were tested at different post-washing intervals to identify suitable sperm processing conditions for gene transfer experiments. Results: The volume, appearance score, initial motility, sperm count and percent live and abnormal spermatozoa were 0.38 ml, 3.58, 80.34%, 4.03 × 109 sperms/ml, 83.18% and 4.52% respectively. Positive correlation was observed among appearance score, motility, live sperm and sperm count. Semen volume is negatively correlated with all the other characters except live sperms, whereas, percent abnormal sperms negatively associated with all the other traits. Significant (p<0.05) decrease in terms of motility and live sperm was recorded at 60 min post-washing. Conclusion: The semen attributes of RIR roosters compares well with the other breeds of chicken. The appearance score can be used to assess fertility where microscopic evaluation facilities are limited. The sperm washing protocol tested in the experiment is suitable for gene transfer experiments.
Highlights
Semen evaluation by macroscopic and microscopic methods is the tool to evaluate male fertility in roosters [1]
The results proved that the semen volume was negatively correlated with all the other characters except live sperms with coefficient values of volume with initial motility and sperm count assuming significantly (p
The initial motility was found to have a positive correlation of very high degree (p
Summary
Semen evaluation by macroscopic and microscopic methods is the tool to evaluate male fertility in roosters [1]. Macroscopic parameters like color, consistency, appearance score and volume and the microscopic traits like concentration, initial motility, abnormal sperms and percent dead sperms are used in semen evaluation [2]. Initial motility is considered as the single reliable characteristic of semen for identifying the fertilizing ability of the roosters [3]. The semen characteristics of avian species are different to a greater degree from that of mammals owing to the diverse physiology and anatomy like the intra-abdominal placement of testes and absence of accessory sex glands [4]. The semen of avian species is highly concentrated with very minimal seminal plasma [4]
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