The Effect of Some Diluents on Semen Characteristics of Turkeys

IT HAS long been recognized that, for artificial insemination to have widespread application, methods for diluting and storing semen are necessary. Van Tienhoven et al. (1958) reported some success with milk as a diluent for turkey semen, although the fertility obtained with semen diluted in milk was lower than that of undiluted semen. Fairly good fertility (64%) was reported by Lake (1960) for chicken semen diluted in a synthetic diluent containing monosodium glutamate (1.92 mg.%) as the main component. By using carbon dioxide as a reversible inhibitor, Vandemark and Sharma (1957) developed a room temperature diluent called the “Illini Variable Temperature Diluent” (I.V.T.) for bovine semen. Polge et al. (1949) and Clark and Shaffner (1960) obtained 54 to 40% fertility, respectively, in their attempts to preserve chicken semen by freezing. Lack of information on a diluent containing carbon dioxide as a reversible inhibitor of metabolism for chicken and turkey semen,…