INFLUENCE OF TEASER HENS ON SASSO SEMEN COLLECTION, QUALITY AND SPERMATOZOA CHARACTERISTICS

Résumé

In poultry, body weight is an important trait when selecting for breeding flock performance, hence Sasso cock could be notable in any breeding program. But the size may not be convenient for massage technique during semen collection. As a result, this study was aimed at using teaser hens to ease semen collection in Sasso cocks without massaging. Twelve Sasso cocks with 4 each in Control (T1): massage technique, use of Sasso hen as a teaser (T2) and use of local hen as a teaser (T3). Another set of 4 each of Sasso hens and local hens were used as teasers in T2 and T3, respectively. In T1, gentle massage on the back and the abdominal regions of the cocks was done to collect semen. While in T2 and T3, Sasso and local hens were used as teasers for semen collection (without massage). Capillary tubes were used in the collection of semen that was promptly processed for semen quality and spermatozoa characteristics determinations. It was observed that only a cock (representing 25%) responded to semen collection when local hen was used as a teaser, whereas all the cocks (100%) responded to massage technique and use of Sasso hen as a teaser. The semen volume ranged from 0.12ml (T3) to 0.22ml (Control) and the total spermatozoa count was similar (405 – 459 x 10⁶/ml) across the treatments. Since the Sasso cocks responded to use of teaser hens in semen collection and the semen quality as well as spermatozoa characteristics were apparently not compromised, use of teasers in semen collection could be an alternative technique in poultry.