Behavior Traits, Semen Measurements and Fertility of White Leghorn Males

INTRODUCTION SELECTING breeding males that have a high fertilizing capacity is a matter of considerable economic importance, as pointed out by Parker (1949), who estimated that about 10 to 15 percent of all chicken eggs incubated are infertile. Hays and Sanborn (1939) indicated that the male may be largely responsible for infertility since by rotating males in pens that were low in fertility, fertility was increased considerably. Lamoreux (1940) and Sampson and Warren (1936) observed that artificial insemination of infertile females increased the fertility of these birds. It has been shown by some investigators that the libido of the male is related to fertility. Wood-Gush and Osborne (1956) selected the five cockerels highest in sex drive from a group and noted that they fertilized more females than the five lowest males. Craig, Casida and Chapman (1954) observed a strain of rats with low fertility and attributed the low fertility to …