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ARTWICIAL ENSRWNATWN AND SEMEN PRODUC‘S‘EON
0F BGBW’HKTE QUAtL

Ti‘wsis 5m aha {39ng 0'? M. S.
3552;319:194“ STATE Ui‘éfi‘k‘ERSi?"f
Nwin W. Kuéenkamp
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LIBRARY

Michigan State
University

THESIS

 

 

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ABSTRACT

ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION AND SEMBN PRODUCTION
OF BOBWHITE QUAIL

by Alwin w. Kulenkamp

The purpose of this study was to determine whether
fertility of Bobwhite quail could be secured by artificial
insemination. Also, onset and duration of fertility, level
of fertility and hatchability resulting from weekly insemina-
tions over an extended period of time, the effect of the
presence or absence of a soft or hard-shelled egg in the
uterus at the time of insemination on fertility and semen
production in the males were to be determined.

Semen was collected from Bobwhite quail males by
simultaneously applying pressure to both the left and right
sides of the vent without prior stimulation, and, upon collec-
tion, the semen was diluted with nine-tenths percent saline
solution to prevent dehydration. Semen volume measurements
were done with a tuberculin syringe to which was attached a
.piece of plastic tubing that had been heated and drawn out to
a small bore. This was calibrated into 2.5 ul graduations
using mercury. Females were artificially inseminated by
placing the diluted semen in the posterior opening of the
everted oviduct.

Mean duration of fertility from six trials, two of

which utilized only a single insemination, one of which was

Alwin H. Kulenkamp
the final insemination of a series of weekly inseminations
and three of which utilized two inseminations within a period
of twenty-four hours, was 9.3 days. Percent fertility
improved considerably after the first trial probably due to
improvement of technique and gain in experience. Average
fertility for the six trials was 64.9 percent.

The average time interval between insemination and
the appearance of the first fertile egg was 3.4 days. Peak
fertility was reached by the fourth day.

Fertility averaged 62.2 I 3.5 percent and hatchability
averaged 77.2 t 1.4 percent over a period of thirty-one week-
ly inseminations. No statistical difference in fertility was
found when a soft or hard-shelled egg was present or absent
in the uterus at the time of insemination.

A correlation was found between duration of fertility
of a hen and the percent of fertility which could be attained
over an extended period of weekly inseminations.

Semen volumes ranged from an average of 4.8 I 1.8 ul
for males which were paired in cages with females, to 8.8 1
1.8'ul for single males. There was a much higher incidence
of zero volume collected from the males paired with females

than from the single males.

ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION AND SEMEN PRODUCTION

OF BOBWHITE QUAIL

by

Alwin W. Kulenkanp

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF SCIENCE
Department of Poultry Science

1966

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author wishes to extend sincere appreciation to
all those who have aided him with this project. Special
thanks are given to Dr. T. H. Coleman, Professor of Poultry
Science for his patience, help, and guidance during the
experimental work and also for his critical review of this
manuscript. I am grateful for the assistance of Dr. J. L.
Gill in helping me with the statistics which were used as
an aid in the interpretation of the results and to my
parents for their encouragement and understanding which was
helpful throughout my work.

Also acknowledgement is due to Dr. H. C. Zindel,
Chairman of Poultry Science Deparhment, for providing the

funds and facilities for this study.

11

II
III

IV

VI

VII

VIII

TABLE OF CONTENTS

IntrOdUCtion eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

R9V1ew Of literature 00....OOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

ObJ.Ct1V“ 00......0....OOOOOOOOQQOOOOOOOOOOCO0..

Material' and mathod' eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

a. Part

1. Artificial insemination ............

b. Part II. Semen volume measurements ..........

Results and discus‘ion OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCO.

a. Part I. Artificial insemination ............

b. Part II. Semen volume measurements ..........

Summary and conclusions .........................

Referenc°.0000000000000.0.0000...00.00.000.000...

APPENDIX

111

Page
1
2
9

lo
10
12
l4
14
28
32
33

36

LIST OF TABLSS
Table Page

1 Fertility, hatchability and duration follow-
ing single and double inseminations of
BObWhite quail OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 15

2 Correlation coefficients between duration
of fertility and average percent fertility
of 31 weekly inseminations of Bobwhite

quail OOOCOOOCOOOOOOOOOOOCOO00.0.00...0...... 24

3 Comparisons of fertility and hatchability
of natural matings vs. artificial insemina-
tions 0‘ BObWhite quail OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 26

4 The percent fertility of Bobwhite quail with
relation to presence of egg in the uterus
at time Of insemination 0.0.0.000000000000000 27

S Semen collection and volumes of Sobwhite

quail 00......00......OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 30
6 Semen collection and volumes of Bobwhite

quail 00......OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 31

iv

Figure

LIST OF FIGURES

Onset and duration of fertility in Bobwhite
qua11‘ 5 trial.) ...00000000000000.0.000...

Onset and duration of fertility in Bobwhite
quail (average Of 5 trial.) .eeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Time after 1st insemination to first fertile
egg based on percent of hens. (Results of
5 trials, 61 successful inseminations) .....

Representative fertility patterns of
BOthite quail .eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee00000000

Percent fertility and hatchability of
Bobwhite quail (31 weekly inseminations) ...

Page

17

18

21

22

INTRODUCTION

Bobwhite quail (Colinus virgianus and its races) have
long been looked upon as a popular game bird in America.
Little scientific work has been reported with the Bobwhite
quail whereas the Coturnix quail seems to be gaining in
popularity as a research animal (Padgett and Ivey, 1959:
Wilson, gg‘gl., 1961). The value of the Bobwhite quail as a
research animal has not yet been determined: however, it may
become useful for this purpose in the future.

Previous experiments where chicken-Bobwhite quail
crosses were attempted in an effort to produce chicken-quail
hybrids were unsuccessful. Experiments were then conducted
to determine whether any fertility could be obtained by
artificial insemination of Bobwhite quail females with semen
from Bobwhite quail males. Information from these experi-
ments as well as information from studies made on semen
volume measurements of Bobwhite quail is presented in this

thesis.

REVIEW 0? LITERATURE

Artificial insemination in birds has not been
developed to the extent that it has in the dairy and beef
cattle fields primarily because of the inability to store
avian semen successfully for long periods of time, but never-
theless it is an important tool for the poultry industry.
Probably the most widespread use of artificial insemination in
the poultry field is in commercial turkey breeder flocks.
Artificial insemination is used by many turkey hatching egg
producers to increase and maintain a higher level of fertility
than they would get with just natural matings. Artificial
insemination is not used much in commercial chicken breeder
flocks because of the greater number of birds involved and a1-
so the fertility from natural matings is not much different
than that obtained from artificial insemination. Artificial
insemination in chickens does become useful under certain
experimental breeding plans, e.g.. when the maximun number of
offspring are desired from a certain sire. In attempting
crosses of different breeds of fowl, artificial insemination
is a 'must' in most cases because of the lack of natural mat-

ing of interspecies.

Semen Collection
Several methods of obtaining fowl spermatozoa have

been tried in the past. Parker, 25 21., (1942) have reviewed

3
some of these. As early as 1914, Payne collected spermatozoa
from the cloaca of a hen which had just mated by using a
sherbert spoon to scoop out the fluid. Craft, 35 21., (1926)
did essentially the same thing using a glass spoon. Dunn
(1927) and Butt (1929) placed a watch glass between the male
and female as they were mating and intercepted the ejaculate.
Artificial cloacas were constructed by Ishikawa (1930) from
an animal membrane which was fitted to the female. The female
was allowed to run loose with the males and the semen was
collected from the apparatus after attempted matings.
Adamstone and Card (1934) did essentially the same thing ex-
cept that they used thin rubber instead of the animal membrane.
An electrical shock was used by Serebrovskii and Sokolovskoja
(1934) to stimulate ejaculation. Parker (1939) devised a
semen collector from the cut off base of a 125 m1 Erlenmeyer
flask. It was attached to the male, who was then allowed to
run free with females. Semen was removed from the collector
after the male attempted to mate. The foregoing methods are
mainly of historical significance. The main method, or modi-
fications of it, which is most widely used today for collect-
ing semen was first described by Burrows and Quinn (1935) and
later modified by them in 1937. This method requires two
peOple or else a holder for the male bird is necessary. It
consists of eliciting ejaculatory responses by massaging the
abdominal region just below the pelvic bones. In addition to
this, the back is simultaneously stroked in a rearward direc-
tion with the thumb and forefinger extending down on opposite

sides of the back. As the copulatory organ is protruded, the

4
thumb and forefinger then grasp at the base and ”milk“ the
semen from the bulbous ducts which are contained within the
musculature of the internal anal sphincter. The semen flows
down the groove of the copulatory organ and then can be
collected in a suitable container. Oftentimes feces or urates
accompany the semen, but the container can be withdrawn so as
to avoid contamination. This method is applicable to both
chiCKens and turkeys.

Johnson (1954) reported that ganders have a penis
which enlarges during the breeding season and is extruded
prior to mating. Semen was collected from these birds through
stimulating an ejaculatory response and collecting the semen
in a container apparently without the milking procedure.
Wentworth and Mellen (1963) collected semen from Japanese quail
by applying a slight upward pressure in the region below the
pubic bones along with pressure around the cloacal region.

The foamy secretion from a cloacal gland which these birds
possess was removed prior to the collection of the semen.

A fair percent fertility was obtained by Payne (1914)
when the fluid collected as previously described by this
author was placed in the cloaca of infertile hens.

According to Quinn and Burrows (1936) and Burrows
and Quinn (1939) the first attempts in producing fertile eggs
by artificial insemination probably gave poor results partial-
ly because of imprOper placement of semen in the oviduct.
Instead of just depositing the semen at the orifice of the

oviduct it was placed within the uterus by a technique of

5
averting the oviduct through the cloaca for direct reception
of the semen. With this procedure the fertility and hatch-
ability were fully as good as that obtained from natural
matings. This is the method that is most in use today.

Some species of fowl are more difficult to evert than
others. Johnson (1954) reported that he could not evert the
geese with which he was working, so, in order to secure
placement of semen within the oviduct, the opening of the non-
everted oviduct was found first by the index finger and then
the syringe was guided into it and the semen deposited.

Kinney and Burger (1960) reported that they were able to evert
female geese of the same species as those used by Johnson:
however, a modification of the technique described by Quinn
and Burrows was used. An interesting note here was that upon
aversion both a right and left oviduct were visible, although
the right oviduct extended only a short length and then was
abortive.

Brown, 25 5;. (1963) obtained fertility in chickens
by intraperitoneal insemination (highest av. 72%): however, it
was not as high as that obtained by intravaginal insemination
(highest av. 93%). A decrease in egg production was noted
when the needle was inserted into the body cavity at a 90°
angle whereas no decrease occurred when the needle was inserted
at a 45° angle. Fertility remained unchanged with the differ-
ent angles.

Wilson, 35,21. (1961) reported 10% fertility was

obtained with artificial insemination of Japanese quail.

6

Ogasawara and Huang (1963) tried artificial insemina-
tion of Japanese quail with rooster semen in an attempt to
produce chicken-quail hybrids. Three methods were used:
intravaginal, intrauterine and intraovarian. Intrauterine
was found to produce the greatest fertility (av. 36.6%):
whereas, intravaginal produced only an average of 13.3% and
intraovarian, 0.0%. It was also reported by these authors
that fertility from intravaginal artificial insemination of
Japanese quail with Japanese quail semen resulted at best in
an average of only 9.0%. However, intrauterine insemination
gave 37.8% fertility while natural matings produced 30.9%.

Wentworth and Mellen (1963) utilized similar insemina-
tion techniques on Japanese quail in order to determine their
effects on subsequent egg production and fertility. The
intrauterine methods differed in that Ogasawara and Huang
(1963) placed semen in the uterus only after an egg was ex-
pelled from it: whereas, these workers deposited the semen
at the anterior end of the uterus via a hypodennic needle
that passed through an egg which the uterus contained. It
was concluded that in terms of egg production, fertility and
viability, insemination by the intrauterine method, using
semen, collected from males given antibiotics prior to
collection, and upon collection placed in a buffered quail-
egg albumen extender plus antibiotics, gave the best results.
No figures on percent fertility were presented. However,
this method fertilized more than 75%.of the females with a

mean duration of fertility of 4.6 days. High mortality

7
occurred with intraperitoneal and intrauterine inseminations
using semen in Krebs-Ringer diluent without any antibiotic
treatment. E, 92;; infection was found to be more prevalent
in these cases than when antibiotics were used. In contrast
to the previous reports of relatively low fertility from
artificial inseminations in Japanese quail, McFarquhar and
Lake (1964) and Marks and Lepore (1965) reported somewhat
better results. The former authors used an intrauterine
method while the latter placed the semen 1 cm deep into the

vagina. Both used undiluted semen.

Semen Volume

 

Several peOple have reported semen volume measure-
ments of the chicken. Burrows and Quinn (1937) reported a
range of 0.1 ml to 4.0 m1. Others, Burrows and Titus (1939),
Gordon and Phillips (1951), Allen and Champion (1955) and
Cooper (1956) have reported measurements within this range.
Most of the measurements would be included in the range of
0.5 ml to 1.5 ml. Parker, 35 5;. (1942) reported that greater
volumes were obtained when the massage method of Burrows and
Quinn (1937) was used than when the semen collector Parker
devised was used. Broad Breasted Bronze turkey semen volumes
obtained by Parker (1946) ranged between 0.19 ml and 0.50 ml
with an average volume of 0.33 ml. It was noted that turkeys
produce, on the average, less than one-half the volume of
chickens but that the sperm concentration is more than twice
as great in the turkey semen. This indicates that the total

number of sperms produced by the two species is about the

8
same. Lorenz, 25.31. (1955) reported a similar volume where-
as Carson, at 31. (1954) measured 0.05 ml to 0.6 ml of semen
per trial from ganders. Wentworth and Mellen (1963) were
able to collect approximately 10 p1 (or 0.01 ml) from the
Japanese quail.

No work has been reported on artificial insemination
of Bobwhite quail and very little has appeared on the
natural reproductive performance of these birds. Nestler,

22 2;. (1944) measured fertility and hatchability over a
period from April to early September on two pens of 32
Bobwhite quail. The fertility obtained ranged from 91% to
95% and hatchability from 77% to 82%.

In their studies of the reproductive cycle of the
Bobwhite quail, Baldini, g; 31. (1952) found fertility values
ranging from ox to 97% from pair matings and an average of
73% from a multiple mating of three females to one male.
These experiments were conducted over a 79 day period
(November 14, 1950 to January 31, 1951) under continuous

artificial lighting.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this study were to determine in

Bobwhite quail:

1.
2.
3.

Whether artificial insemination was feasible.

Onset and duration of fertility.

The level of fertility and hatchability which could be
attained over an extended period of time.

Whether the presence or absence of a hard or soft shell
egg at time of insemination had any effect upon fertility.

The volume of semen produced.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

BART I
Twenty female Bobwhite quail in individual 4“ x 7“

cages were used in these experiments. The number of females
inseminated varied from 14 to 20 throughout the duration of
the experiments depending on cessation or commenement of egg
production and on mortality. Both males and females were on
24 hours of light throughout the experiment. Eggs were
gathered and marked daily and stored at room temperature.
They were set at weekly intervals (except for one period of
two weeks) in a Jamesway 252 forced draft incubator, and
fertility was determined by candling between the 20 and 21st
day of incubation. Hatchability was determined by the number
of chicks hatched from the fertile eggs by the 26th day of
incubation. Feed and water were fed ad libitum throughout
the experiments (see Appendix for the ration fed). For com-
parison, fertility and hatchability figures are presented
from eggs produced by several pens of mass mated Bobwhite
quail with varying male to fenale ratios, overlapping the
period in which the artificial inseminations were done.
Semen was collected from at least six males for any
one insemination. Due to the small quantities of semen pro-
duced per male (less than 0.01 ml on the average), an ordi-
nary tuberculin syringe (sometimes used for semen collection

of other species), was not satisfactory for collection as it

10

11

had too large a surface area exposed on which the semen would
adhere. This problem was solved by attaching to the syringe
a piece of plastic tubing which had been heated and drawn
out to a very small bore with thin walls. Semen was obtained
from the males without the prior stimulation that Burrows and
Quinn (1937) described for the chicken or turkey. The pro-
cedure was to grasp the male so his breast rested in the palm
of the left hand and, holding him in an almost vertical
position, squeeze around the base of the cloaca with the
thumb and forefinger of the right hand. This caused the
copulatory organ to protrude and then with a stripping action
by the thumb and forefinger the semen was forced out of the
terminal ducts of the vas deferens and onto the capulatory
organ. From here it was drawn up into the'plastic tube
attached to the syringe. This semen was then deposited into
a small vial which contained a small amount of physiological
saline. The purpose of this was to prevent the semen from
drying out before the inseminating was done. The semen was
pooled in this manner and diluted about 1:1. In most cases
insemination was done within a half hour from the time of
collection. Approximately 0.005 ml of the diluted pooled
semen was placed in the posterior Opening of the oviduct.
Efforts were made to place the semen in as far as the uterus.
Some females were difficult to evert, but in most cases the
semen was placed at least in the vagina.

Initially, four trials were conducted to determine
the duration of fertility. The first and third trials

12
consisted of a single insemination and the second and fourth
consisted of two inseminations within a 24-hour period.
These trials were done on the same groups of hens so a period
of at least one week between the last fertile egg from the
previous trial and the insemination of the subsequent trial
was allowed to establish that all hens were infertile.
Fertility and hatchability were recorded for each trial until
no more fertile eggs were produced.

Following the duration trials, females were inseminat-
ed at weekly intervals for a period of 31 weeks with the first
insemination of the series being a double one. It was noted
at the times of insemination whether a hard-shelled egg,
soft-shelled egg or no egg was present in the uterus. This
was determined by pressing in the appropriate region of the
abdomen. Eggs were gathered, fertility and hatchability were
determined the same as in the duration trials. The period
following the last insemination of this series provided for a
fifth duration trial and a sixth duration trial utilizing
two inseminations within a 24-hour period was conducted after

it was established that all the hens were infertile.

BART II

Semen volume measurements were recorded from 29 male
Bobwhite quail ranging in age from approximately 135 months
to 28 years old. Twelve were paired off with females in
cages measuring 4' x 7' and 17 were alone in the same size
cages. The senen volume measurements were done with an
instrument similar to that described in Part I. However,

this one was calibrated, using mercury, into 2.5 ul graduations.

13
Volumes falling between these graduations were estimated by
sight. Feed and water were fed 22 libitum throughout the
experiment. The birds received continuous light.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

PART I. Artificial insemination
Percent fertility, percent hatchability and duration

of fertility following single and double inseminations of
Bobwhite quail are summarized in Table 1. Trials 1 and 3
were single inseminations and trial 5 was the last insemina-
tion of a series of 31 weekly inseminations. Trials 2, 4 and
6 were double inseminations. The duration of fertility as
measured from the day of insemination ranged from 0 - 12 days,
in trial 1, to 9 - 18 days, in trial 6, with an average|of
4.1 and 12.3 days, respectively. The overall average dura-
tion of the 6 trials was 9.3 days. The large standard errors
of the mean show that there was much variability between hens
in this respect. In comparison to other species of fowl,
this is a somewhat greater mean duration than that reported
from the'Japanese quail by Wentworth and Mellen (1963),
whereas geese, Johnson (1954), Kinney and Burger (1960) and
ducks, Ash (1961) have about the same duration. Chickens
tend to have a slightly longer duration than this on the
average (Dunn, 1927: Curtis and Lambert, 1929: Nicolaides,
1934), while turkeys have about a 4 - 5 times longer period
(McCartney, 1951: Hale, 1955). It can be readily seen that
much improvement in fertility, as well as the average dura-

tion of fertility, occurred after trial 1. This is reflected

l4

15
Table l. Fertility, hatchability and duration following
single and double inseminations of Bobwhite quail
W

 

 

 

Fertility 3 Percent
1 Percent 2 Percent DurationLdays) Hens
Trial Fertility Hatchability Range Average Fertile
1 32.9 100.0 0 - 12 4.1 1 1.3 50.0
2 76.8 81.3 0 - 16 9.8 1 1.3 86.7
3 59.3 90.5 4 - 17 10.1 1 1.0 100.0
4 81.8 94.3 0 - 18 9.9 1 1.0 95.0
s 72.7 72.5 0 - 16 9.7 1 0.7 92.9
6 65.6 88.9 9 - 18 12.3 1 0.8 100.0
Average 64.9 87.9 --- 9.3 87.4
1Trials 1, 3 and S were single inseminations and trials 2, 4

and 6 were double inseminations.

2Calculated for 8-day period beginning second day after first
insemination except for trial 1 which includes only a 6-day

period.

3

Duration includes day of first insemination.

16
by an increase in the percent of the hens which were ferti-
lized and was probably due to refinement of technique and
gain in experience. The average fertility for the six trials
was 64.9 percent for an 8-day period, except for trial 1
which was only a 6-day period, beginning the second day
following the first insemination. If trial 1 is eliminated
and trials 2 - 6 are averaged, the fertility is 71.2 percent
for the B-day period. Even if one discounts trial 1 for be—
ing low due to inadequate experience, there still is slight
evidence that single inseminations may give poorer fertility
over the period previously stated than do the double insemina-
tions. This could be expected because the fertility is al-
ways calculated from the first insemination, thereby,
actually resulting from somewhat older sperm in the trials
utilizing the single insemination only, whereas, the sperm
from the second insemination of the double inseminations may
be as much as 18 to 20 hours younger throughout the trial.
Also, the total amount of semen introduced was possibly more
nearly the optimum amount in the case of the double insemina-
tions.

Hatchability was generally good throughout the trials
with an average hatch of 87.9 percent of the fertile eggs
Set.

Figures 1 and 2 show the onset and duration of
fertility. Figure 1 shows the curves of trials 2 - 6 and
Figure 2 is a combined average of the 5 trials with the
vertical lines representing the standard error of the mean

for each day. In all but one trial fertility began on the

17

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second day following the first insemination and reached a peak
by the fourth day. In trial 6, one out of nine eggs which
were laid the day following insemination was found to be fer-
tile. Both Dunn (1927) and Nicolaides (1934) have reported in
chickens a small percentage of eggs being fertilized within

24 hours after mating. Sixty percent or better fertility was
maintained until the eighth day and fertility then decreased
to 0 by the 19th day.

Figure 3 shows the relationship between time after
the first insemination and the appearance of the first fertile
egg. The time ranged between 1 and 10 days before the appear-
ance of the first fertile egg following insemination, with an
average of 3.4 days. Less than half (39.4%) of the hens that
were fertilized became fertile by the second day following the
first insemination. However, of those which took longer than
two days to establish fertility, only 35.7% laid one or more
infertile eggs during the period in which fertile eggs could
have been expected prior to the first fertile egg. For ex-
ample, see Figure 4, hen No. 4. This hen laid two infertile
eggs (on the second and third days following insemination)
which conceivably could have been fertile. Figure 4 shows
typical fertility patterns in Bobwhite quail as found in these
experiments.

Figure 5 shows the average fertility and hatch-
ability from 31 weekly inseminations. The average fertility
for the 31-week period was 62.2 1 3.5% while the average
hatchability was 77.2 t 1.4%. There was much week to week

variation in fertility and to a somewhat lesser extent in

Figure 3. Time after 1st insemination to 1st fertile egg based on percent
of hens (Results of 5 trials, 61 successful inseminations)

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23
hatchability. The observed variation in fertility was probably
due more to differences in semen quality from week to week
than to any other factor. Some weeks the semen would be more
contaminated than others, and also the volume of semen
collected varied considerably. No work was done on deter-
mining the volume of semen to inseminate and perhaps the
arbitrary value chosen could have been less than optimum,
especially in those cases when the sperm concentration was
lower as a result of less than average volume of sanen mixed
with the constant volume of diluent.

Correlation coefficients were calculated between
duration of fertility for each of the five duration trials
and the average percent fertility obtained from the 31 weekly
inseninations (See Table 2).

All values obtained were significantly different from
zero. The highest and lowest r values were changed to stand-
ard normal deviates which were not significantly different
from each other at the 5% level. This indicates that within
the limitations of this study (including the fact that in-
seminations were made at seven day intervals), hens with a
long duration of fertility following a single or a double in-
semination tended to have a higher average percent fertility
when continuous inseminations were done over a period of time
than did those with a short duration. In view of the relative
repeatability between the duration trials, this relationship
may be useful in predicting from a single duration trial those
hens which will have good fertility and those which will have

poorer fertility in the future.

24

Table 2. Correlation coefficients between duration of
fertility and average percent fertility of 31
weekly inseminations of Bobwhite quail

 

 

Duration trial 2 3 4 5 6

 

r = 0.763 0.602 0.666 0.642 0.694

 

1N0 statistical significance between the high and low values

at the 5% level.

25

Comparisons between fertility and hatchability of
natural matings vs. artificial insemination (See Table 3),
show there was little difference between the two as observed
under the conditions of this study. Fertility for the
natural matings was 60.2% as compared to 61.9% from the
artificial inseminations. Hatchability for the natural
matings was 78.9% as compared to 77.1% from the artificial
inseminations.

Nestler, 25 5;. (1944), reported much better fertility
(91% - 95%) and about the same values for hatchability (77% -
82%) from natural matings as obtained by artificial insemina-
tion in the present study. Possibly the birds which they
used had been selected for better fertility at one time or
another causing the relatively large difference. The use of
either undiluted semen or a larger volume of diluted semen
per insemination might improve fertility over that obtained
in the present experiment. Also, much variation was observed
in fertility from hen to hen: therefore, selection for fer-
tility over a period of time might be advantageous.

In an attempt to determine the effect of the presence
or absence of a hard or soft-shelled egg in the uterus at the
time of insemination upon fertility, the data in Table 4 were
recorded. There was no statistical difference between the
three means. However, when one looks at the weighted means a
rather large difference appears to favor the soft-shelled egg
category. This becomes even more apparent when the fertility

from just those hens which laid ten or more eggs in the soft

26

Table 3. Comparisons of fertility and hatchability of
natural matings vs. artificial inseminations of
Bobwhite quail.

No. No.eggs % No.fertile %
eggs fertile Fertility eggs hatched Hatchebility

1

 

Natural
mating2 5529 3330 60.2 2414 78.9

Artificial
insemina-
tion 1318 816 61.9 612 77.1

 

1Cracked fertile eggs which didn't hatch not included in

calculation.

2Various male to female ratios in pens of approximately 35 - 40
birds.

Table 4.

27
The percent fertility of Bobwhite quail with relation

1

to presence of egg in the uterus at time«of insemina-
tion

w

Percent fertility

 

 

 

 

Hen 80.099 Soft shell egg Hard shell egg Overall
1 61.8 (55)3 77.8 (18) 58.0 (50) 62.6 (123)
6 70.4 (54) 77.3 (44) 77.1 (48) 74.7 (146)
7 45.7 (35) 20.0 (5) 34.8 (46) 38.4 (86)

10 92.5 (40) 100.0 (4) 71.4 (7) 90.2 (51)

13 31.1 (28) 0.0 (1) 25.0 (4) 30.3 (33)

15 55.8 (43), --- 76.2 (21) 62.5 (64)

17 82.8 (29) 100.0 (3) 20.0 (5) 75.7 (37)

21 70.5 (44) 95.8 (24) 84.4 (45) 81.4 (113)

22 44.9 (49) 25.0 (8) 28.7 (87) 34.0 (144)

24 81.8 (33) 66.7 (3) 66.7 (9) 77.8 (45)

26 41.1 (56) 72.2 (18) 49.3 (69) 49.0 (143)

27 56.5 (46) 61.9 (21) 31.8 (22) 51.7 (89)

29 83.3 (42) --- 100.0 (9) 86.3 (51)

32 92.3 (39) --- 100.0 (10) 93.9 (49)

Mean 65.1 1 5.4 63.3 1 10.3 58.8 1 7.5 64.9 1 5.8

weighted

mean 64.4 (593) 73.2 (149) 54.2 (432) 61.8 (1174)

1

2

Data from 30 weekly inseminations.

3Number of eggs involved shown in parenthesis.

Only those hens which survived the entire period of insemina-
tions.

..“(a‘e

 

28
shell category is considered. Four of the five hens had
much better fertility when inseminated when a soft-shelled
egg was in the uterus than with eiflher a hard-shelled egg or
no egg present. This may or may not be a true difference
and no conclusion can be made from the information available.
Perhaps with larger numbers of birds a difference could be
shown. In chickens it was reported by Moore and Byerly (1942)
and Parker (1945) that a hard-shelled egg in the uterus at
the time of insemination was detrimental to fertility.
Parker's data (1945) also showed somewhat better fertility
from hens which were inseminated with a soft-shelled egg in
the uterus than when either a hard-shelled egg or no egg was
present. Parker and Barton (1946) and Payne (1956) indicated
that little difference in fertility was found in turkeys when
artificial insemination was done either in the morning or
afternoon) whereas, Wyne, st 51. (1959) found a 12 - 18%
decrease in fertility in turkeys when they were inseminated

with a hard-shelled egg in the uterus.

[ART II, Semen Volumes

Data from 14 weekly collections of semen from 29
Bobwhite quail males are summarized in Tables 5 and 6. From
the 17 males which were alone in cages, semen was success-
fully collected, on the average, 60.1%.of the times attempted
collections were made. This is a much higher percentage than
that obtained from the 12 males paired with females. The
reverse is true when one looks at the percent attempted

collections in which no semen was secured. For the single

29
males only 18.5% of the attempted collections were unsuccess-
ful as compared with 48.2% for the paired males. Also, the
average volume of semen was much lower for those males which
were paired, 4.8 pd, as compared to the single males, 8.8 pl.
The percent of contaminated collections was considerably
lower in the paired male group than in the single male group.
The reason for this is not apparent. There was much variation
between the males in the tendency to contaminate their semen.
However, for the most part only a few males in either group
consistently contaminated the semen, while most gave relativ-
ely clean semen.

There are two possible explanations for the seemingly
poorer performance of those males which were paired with
females as compared to that of those which were single. The
paired males may have been mating regularly thereby reducing
their semen volume. On the other hand being crowded in the
small cage with the female might have produced enough stress

on the male to cause the apparent decrease in semen production.

30

Table 5. Semen collection and volumes of Bobwhite quail1

W
Single males

 

 

 

 

Percent Percent Percent Average
attempted attempted collections volume per
Male collections collections no semen collection
no. successful contaminated (ml)
or lost
2 64.3 14.3 21.4 16.2
3 85.7 7.1 7.1 6.4
4 50.0 50.0 0.0 9.1
8 100.0 0.0 0.0 4.5
9 78.6 21.4 0.0 5.7
12 0.0 7.1 92.9 0.0
16 78.6 14.3 7.1 10.7
18 71.4 28.6 0.0 12.8
19 35.7 50.0 14.3 2.9
20 64.3 21.4 14.3 7.8
23 57.1 42.9 0.0 6.0
25 21.4 21.4 57.1 6.8
30 35.7 35.7 23.6 4.6
41 100.0 0.0 0.0 13.5
42 14.3 14.3 11.4 3.8
45 85.7 14.3 0.0 32.1
52 78.6 21.4 0.0 7.5
a». 60.1 21.4 18.5 8.8 1 1.8
1

Data from 14 weekly collections.

31

Table 6. Semen collection and volumes of Bobwhite quail1

M
Males with Females

 

 

 

Percent Percent Percent Average
attempted attempted collections volume per
Male collections collections no semen collection
no. successful contaminated (pl)
or lost
33 7.1 7.1 85.7 2.5
34 50.0 0.0 50.0 2.3
36 7.7 0.0 92.3 3.5
37 0.0 85.7 14.3 0.0
38 71.4 21.4 7.1 6.6
39 71.4 0.0 28.6 4.1
40 92.9 7.1 0.0 23.8
43 0.0 0.0 100.0 0.0
44 42.9 7.1 50.0 3.6
46 57.1 0.0 42.9 4.8
47 35.7 14.3 50.0 3.9
48 35.7 7.1 57.1 2.9
Av. 39.3 12.5 48.2 4.8 1 1.8

 

1Data from 14 weekly collections.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Fertility was obtained in Bobwhite quail by using arti-
ficial insemination.

Much variation was observed in the onset and duration of
fertility with mean values of 3.4 days and 9.3 days,
respectively.

Much variation was observed in the weekly percent fertility
resulting from weekly inseminat ons. An average value of
62.2 t 3.5% fertility and 77.2 - 1.4% hatchability was
obtained from 31 weekly inseminations. These values were
comparable to those obtained from natural matings.

A significant correlation was found between the results of
each duration trial and the average percent fertility from
the period of 31 weekly inseminations, 0.9., those hens
with longer duration of fertility tended to have a higher
average percent fertility from the weekly inseminations.

No statistical difference was found in fertility where in-
seminations were done when either a soft or hard shell egg
was present in or absent from in the uterus at the time
of insemination.

Average semen volumes ranged from 4.8 t 1.8 p1 from males
which were paired in cages with females to 8.8 t 1.8)p1
from males which were alone in cages. There was a greater
tendency to have more non-producers in the paired males
than with the single males.

32

REFERENCES

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33

34

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.0 s
'ee"..

0

I

APPENDIX

Quail Breeder Ration - 25%

 

Ingredient

Corn

Soybean oil meal, 50%
Alfalfa meal, 17%

Dried whey

Meat and bone scraps, 50%
Fish meal - menhaden, 60%
Salt, iodized

CaCO3
Dicalcium phosphate
Vitamin premix, Nopco M-4

Stabilized animal fat

%Aof Ratigg
40.75
37.00

5.00
2.50
2.50
2.50

.50
5.50
1.50

.25
2.00