Semen Characteristics of Purebred and Crossbred Male Rabbits

Abstract

The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the semen quality traits of purebred male rabbits and their crosses under subtropical Egyptian conditions. A full 3 x 3 diallel crossing was performed for producing the first generation progeny of New Zealand White (N), Flander (F) and Rex (R) breeds. The highest ejaculate volume (p< 0.05) and percentage of live sperms (p<0.01) with the lowest percentage of sperm cell morphological abnormalities (p<0.05) had been recorded in the NF bucks. Moreover, they possessed positive estimates of direct heterosis for ejaculate volume, mass motility (Mm), individual motility (Im) and sperm cell concentration (SCC). On the contrary, pH had negative estimates of direct heterosis in all crosses and their reciprocal. Semen pH was negatively correlated with SCC (r = -0.18), Mm (r = -0.13) and Im (r = -0.23). In conclusion, the superiority of crossbreeding was particularly obvious in the New Zealand White x Flander males, which cumulated heterosis and favorable maternal effects of the Flander dams.

Assessment of Pomegranate Juice as Antioxidant in Extender on Cauda Epididymis Spermatozoal Quality of Buck at Refrigerated Temperature

“…Similar positive correlations among these traits in fresh bull semen of different breeds have been reported by Sharma et al (2012) and Zubair et al (2013). Contrary to the present finding, the dead sperm percentage was found to be positively correlated with normal sperm percentage (r = 0.12, p < 0.05) in male rabbit (El-Tarabany et al, 2015).…”

Evaluation of effectiveness of an innovative semen extender (Formula®) comparing with a traditional extender (Lepus®) for artificial insemination in rabbits does

“…The first objective of this study was to evaluate the total and progressive motility in rabbit spermatozoa diluted with Formula show that when rabbit spermatozoa suspended in the first extender maintained a forward progressive motility of almost 70% till 72 h of storage at 17 C. This successful result may be attributed to the metabolic activity of the spermatozoa, which use fructose as the major source of energy (El-Tarabany et al 2015). In the present invention, the polysaccharide and/or oligosaccharide work as energy source precursors.…”

Effects of dietary supplementation of ginger, garlic and onion on semen profile, haematological and serum antioxidant status of rabbit bucks raised in the dry season of the humid tropic

“…However, seminal parameters with the exception of sperm morphology were sustained for most of the experimental period in spite of high THI in contradiction to the conclusions of El-Maghawry andSoliman, 2002 andIraqi et al, 2012. From this result, it is apparent that the severe heat stress did not affect spermatogenesis in variance with the observations of Ain-Baziz et al, 2012 andSchneidgenová et al, 2011 both of which reported low sperm parameters at high temperatures and high values at low temperatures. This result might be attributed to the inherent adaptability of the studied animals and the experimental diets which might have made the animals' testes and reproductive accessory glands less sensitive to the deleterious effect of heat stress (El-Tarabany et al 2015). Percentage abnormal sperm cells, contrary to other seminal parameters, increased subsequently at a weekly interval from the 2 nd week till the 5th week (31.79%) and remained similarly high till the end of the experiment.…”

“…However, this However, the percentage of abnormal cells regardless of level of inclusion was high in garlic supplemented groups comparable to the report of Omotoso et al (2012) and was similar to the values observed in the control and the positive control. The general positive impact of spice supplementation on sperm parameters can be attributed to the spices' antioxidant properties and androgenic effects (Ramandeep et al, 2013;Morakinyo et al, 2010;Hammami et al, 2008) which may have enhanced sertoli cells activities in maintaining sperm production under the influence of heat stress (El-Tarabany et al, 2015).…”