The objective of this study was to evaluate sexual behaviour and semen quality of St. Croix ram lambs bred in a semi-desert region. In Experiment 1, 24 yearling rams were assigned to two groups: T1 with 12 males confined for 11 months; T2 with 12 males confined individually for the same period of time. In Experiment 2, 20 four-month-old ram lambs were assigned to two groups of 10 animals each. In each experiment, sexual behaviour and semen quality were evaluated every 2 weeks over 11 months. In Experiment 1, rams that were individually confined showed better sexual activity than lambs confined together (P<0.05), whereas in Experiment 2 ram lambs confined individually only showed shorter time to first mount with ejaculation (P<0.05). In experiment 1, sperm with better progressive motility (P<0.05) was recorded per yearling ram confined individually (63.4±0.2%) in comparison with rams confined together (51.60.1%). In Experiment 2, ram lambs confined together showed better semen quality (P˂0.05). In both trials, an effect of the season was observed on both sexual behaviour and semen quality (P<0.05). In conclusion, this study of St. Croix males showed different sexual behaviours according to age and type of enclosure.
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