COMPARISON OF PROCEDURES FOR COLLECTING SEMEN FROM GANDERS AND INSEMINATING GEESE

Experiments were conducted to compare management of ganders and semen collection procedures with respect to semen and sperm yield, and two frequencies of artificial insemination were tested with respect to fertility. Housing ganders in groups, singly, or singly with the introduction of a female just before collection was the rank order of housing system from least to most successful collection of ejaculates. There were no significant differences among types of housing with respect to semen volume, but ejaculates from ganders housed singly had the greatest (P < .05) spermatozoal concentrations. Ejaculates collected with an artificial vagina were of greater (P < .05) volume and total spermatozoal yield but not spermatozoal concentration than those collected by aspiration. Interactions between collector and method were observed for spermatozoal traits. Geese inseminated on 2 consecutive days/wk showed greater (P < .01) fertility than those inseminated once per week. Therefore, collection of semen with an artificial vagina from ganders housed singly, with insemination weekly but on consecutive days, should result in successful reproduction of geese.