The Effects of Ambient Temperature on Production and Fertilizing Capacity of Turkey Spermatozoa

Metabolism of Turkey Semen as Affected by the Environment of Donor Birds , ,

“…Limited observations in this study on semen pH values corroborate an earlier observation (Burrows and Kosin, 1953) that no clear-cut pattern exists in the range of these values between environmental groups. The work of Bogdonoff and Shaffner (1954) shows that within the pH range of 6.0 to 8.0, the fertilizing capacity of undiluted chicken semen remains unaffected by shifts in pH.…”

“…Although there is no direct evidence on the point in this study, a postulate is made that functional capacity (from standpoint of fertilizing capacity and "siring" a livable zygote) of such semen is also likely to be depressed. This is based on an earlier finding of Burrows and Kosin (1953) that semen from males subjected to an "outdoor" environment similar to that used in the present study had a lower fertilizing capacity. Also later, another study from this laboratory showed that turkey males, exposed to all the fluctuations of ambient temperature normally experienced in Pullman during both early and late breeding seasons are not so effective as breeders (fertilizability, and siring livable embryos) as are those which have received reasonable protection from such temperature stress (Kosin and Mitchell, 1955, 1 and 2).…”

“…Also later, another study from this laboratory showed that turkey males, exposed to all the fluctuations of ambient temperature normally experienced in Pullman during both early and late breeding seasons are not so effective as breeders (fertilizability, and siring livable embryos) as are those which have received reasonable protection from such temperature stress (Kosin and Mitchell, 1955, 1 and 2). Sperm concentration and mating rate, of course, may be responsible in part for this depression in natural mating, even though there is no clear-cut evidence for consistent seasonal trends in the concentration of spermatozoa in turkey semen (Burrows and Kosin, 1953;Law, 1957). At any rate, because the "Z" value corrects for sperm concentration, the latter factor can be eliminated from any further consideration in the analysis of aerobic and anaerobic metabolism data obtained in this study.…”

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A REPORT from this laboratory (Burrows and Kosin, 1953) showed that fertilizing capacity of turkey spermatozoa used in artificial insemination was adversely affected when donor birds were subjected to a prolonged period of low ambient temperatures. The same study indicated a seasonal trend in semen fertilizability, as well as in the hatchability of fertile eggs: the former improved with the advent of spring weather and early summer, the latter definitely began to decline in the beginning of May.

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Ambient Temperature as a Factor in Turkey Reproduction ,

“…While no observations were made on the frequency of matings during the progress of this investigation, the recent results from this Station (Burrows and Kosin, 1953), lend weight to an earlier observation by Parker (loc. cit.…”