Comparison of electroejaculation and transrectal massage for semen collection in range and yearling feedlot beef bulls

Effect of semen collection by transrectal massage of accessory sexual glands or artificial vagina on the outcome of breeding soundness examinations of Italian yearling beef bulls

“…Semen was collected more quickly with the localized TRM method, which also resulted in less energy expenditure on the part of the person performing the procedure. In this study, semen was obtained from 81.3% of the yearling beef bulls that were subjected to TRM, and this value is comparable with those of previous studies involving older bulls (>15 months) [12,15] and bulls of the same age [16] in which the achievement of successful collections ranged from 80% to greater than 90%. It has been reported that handling stress is one of the major limiting factors of the successful collection of semen from beef bulls with the TRM method [15].…”

“…In this study, semen was obtained from 81.3% of the yearling beef bulls that were subjected to TRM, and this value is comparable with those of previous studies involving older bulls (>15 months) [12,15] and bulls of the same age [16] in which the achievement of successful collections ranged from 80% to greater than 90%. It has been reported that handling stress is one of the major limiting factors of the successful collection of semen from beef bulls with the TRM method [15]. The use of TRM offers the substantial advantage of obtaining semen samples from bulls that are not trained to use the AV, which allows for the evaluation of the seminal traits of yearling animals.…”

“…Miller and Evans [11] reported that massages of approximately 2 minutes usually produce semen samples from 2.5-to 12-year-old bulls. Additionally, Palmer et al [15] reported a mean time of 67.5 seconds from the start of TRM until semen emission from 1-to 2-year-old bulls. Although the mean collection time was longer in our study because the yearling bulls were not accustomed to this semen collection routine and were more fractious and more susceptible to handling stress, we consider this semen collection method to be relatively easy and quicker than the use of an AV for untrained bulls.…”

“…Using this method, it is possible to obtain ejaculates from untrained bulls without using any expensive equipment, and most bulls do not vigorously object to it [14]. This procedure has recently been the object of research that has confirmed its feasibility in both yearling and range beef bulls of mixed breeds and ages [7,8,15,16]. However, not all bulls allow the collection of semen, and the quantity and quality of semen are lower for those of samples collected by EE or caudal epididymal dissection [8,16].…”

Relationship between production characteristics and breeding potential of 25-month old extensively managed Bonsmara bulls

“…A 4 mm drop of diluted semen was placed on a pre-warmed microscope slide, covered with a cover-slide, and evaluated for the (Vilakazi & Webb, 2004). Sperm morphology was determined by evaluating the number of normal versus abnormal sperm per 200 sperm in the eosin-nigrosin stained smear (1000x magnification) (Palmer et al, 2005). Sperm morphology was evaluated for the percentage of normal sperm, percentage major defects (e.g.…”