The Physiology of Reproduction in Turkeys

RECENTLY there has been rather wide-spread interest among commercial breeders in the use of artificial breeding to improve the reproductive efficiency of many low-fertility strains of turkeys. In order to make artificial breeding as efficient as possible for commercial application, it is important to be able to provide sound recommendations concerning the frequency of mating by artificial insemination with various levels of semen. Generally, it is recommended that poult producers inseminate their breeders with either 0.05 or 0.025 ml. of undiluted semen at intervals of either two or three weeks. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to relate frequency of mating and semen dosage to reproductive performance. McCartney (1952) has previously reviewed the literature concerning the relationship between frequency of mating by artificial insemination and semen dosage and resultant fertility in turkeys. He also reported results from mating turkeys with successive insemination of 0.05 ml. of semen at intervals of …