Fertility of the Turkey Hen as Affected by Initial Insemination and Onset of Egg Production

Abstract

A comparison between initial inseminations of Large White turkey hens prior to or after onset of egg production was undertaken to determine the effect on fertility. Semen from Bronze toms was utilized for the initial inseminations whereas all subsequent inseminations utilized White sires. After 10 weeks there were no significant differences between treatments for percent egg production or hatchability. Inseminating prior to the onset of egg production resulted in a significantly different (P less than or equal to .05) 8-week average of 97.5% fertility in the early insemination (EI) group as compared to an average of 90.4% in the late insemination (LI) group. Differences between the EI and the LI groups were greatest during the last 2 weeks of the experiment during which the EI hens maintained higher levels of fertility. Bronze poults were observed in the EI progeny following three subsequent inseminations with semen from White sires, whereas no Bronze poults were obtained from the LI hens following the third subsequent insemination with White semen.

Effect of Sperm Numbers per Insemination Following Early or Late Initial Inseminations in Turkeys

“…This is consistent with previous reports by Mclntyre et al (1982) and Mclntyre and Christensen (1986).…”

“…Fertile eggs of the EI treatments hatched significantly better than fertile eggs of the LI treatments. This has not been observed in previous studies (Mclntyre et al, 1982;Mclntyre and Christensen, 1985). Furthermore, eggs from the 20 million sperm/AI group The hatch of fertile eggs for the 20, 50, and 100 million sperm/AI groups in Weeks 16 to 20 was 56.6, 72.6, and 67.0%, respectively, with the 20 million group being significantly lower than the other two.…”

“…Turkey hens receiving their first artificial insemination (AI) prior to the onset of egg production produce more fertile eggs than hens inseminated initially after egg production commences (Mclntyre et al, 1982). Fertility following early initial inseminations (EI) is particularly enhanced as compared to late initial inseminations (LI) when sperm numbers within the hen's oviduct become marginal (Mclntyre and Christensen, 1985).…”

Turkey hen fertility and egg production after artificial insemination and multiple oviduct eversion during the pre-laying period

“…Artificial insemination (AI) of turkey hens before the onset of egg production generally results in higher hen fertility than in hens inseminated initially after the onset of egg production (Mclntyre et al, 1982(Mclntyre et al, , 1986. Although the physiological basis of these observations has not been established, Mclntyre et al (1982) suggested that there is "... an increased receptiveness of the hen's oviduct to spermatozoa during the time that natural mating frequency is highest".…”

“…Although the physiological basis of these observations has not been established, Mclntyre et al (1982) suggested that there is "... an increased receptiveness of the hen's oviduct to spermatozoa during the time that natural mating frequency is highest".…”