Production and storage of goat semen for artificial insemination

Abstract

Research on goat semen preservation is reviewed with regards to semen production and methods of preservation.

The methods of increasing semen production should consider the environmental influences on reproduction in the buck. In he-goat, sexual behaviour, sperm production and sperm quality are influenced by photoperiodic changes. The use of artificial photoperiodic cycles can help to control reproductive activity in bucks and to increase the number of semen doses produced during the buck’s life. To maximize the amount and quality of spermatozoa, a selection of suitable donors from young males is necessary.

A specific problem in the preservation of goat semen is the detrimental effect of seminal plasma on the subsequent viability of spermatozoa in vitro. The causative agent is an enzyme from the secretions of the bulbourethral gland, which interacts with egg yolk and milk constituents present in the diluents.

In goats, the lack of a reliable method for short term storage of semen is a limiting factor especially in centers without storage facilities for frozen semen. The methods reviewed for processing and freezing semen differ in several aspects: the use of ejaculates with or without seminal plasma, the type and composition of diluent, the method of dilution , the presence or absence of glycerol, the time of equilibration, and the packaging of spermatozoa in straws or pellets.