A Comparison of Various Methods of Estimating Spermatozoa Concentration of Turkey Semen

SEVERAL methods have been used to estimate the spermatozoa concentration of chicken and turkey semen. Most of these methods involve actual spermatozoa counts (haemocytometer, Coulter counter), packed cell volume (hematocrit) or optical density (colorimeter, spectrophotometer). Jones and Wilson (1967) compared spermatozoa concentration of chicken semen obtained by the haemocytometer method with that determined electronically with a Coulter counter. They found that spermatozoa counts obtained with the Coulter counter were less variable and required less time. The coefficients of variation with the haemocytometer and Coulter counter methods were 10.2 and 2.7 percent respectively. There are no reports in the literature on the use of the Coulter counter for counting turkey spermatozoa. McCartney et al. (1958) and McCartney and Brown (1959) compared spermatozoa counts (haemocytometer) and packed cell volume of semen from small and large type white turkeys. McCartney et al. (1958) observed a highly significant correlation of +.67 between the values…