Late Evening Artificial Insemination of Turkey Hens

Turkey hens were artificially inseminated at three times (0800, 1100, or 2200 hr) under conditions where high or low fertility would be expected. Four trials were conducted and the same two persons collected semen and inseminated the hens in all trials. Each hen was inseminated with .025 cc undiluted semen. There was no significant difference in fertility when hens were inseminated at different times of the day in the first three trials. In a fourth trial, where high fertility was expected, hens inseminated at 0800 hr had lower fertility than those inseminated at 2200 hr. There was no significant difference between inseminating at 0800 or 1100 hr and 1100 or 2200 hr. The results of this study indicate that late evening insemination is not necessary for high fertility.