THE INFLUENCE OF SEASONS ON SPERM QUALITY PARAMETER SUCH AS SEMEN MOTILITY, VIABILITY AND MORPHOLOGY IN SELECTED NIGERIAN BREEDS OF SHEEP

Abstract

The study was carried out to determine the presence of bacterial contamination on semen quality of selected Nigerian breeds of sheep at the Livestock Investigation Division of National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom. With the objective to determine presence of bacterial load on semen and necessitate the harvest of quality ejaculates. A total of forty-eight (48) rams of four different breeds; Balami, Uda West African Dwarf and Yankasa were used for the experiment in a complete randomized design. Six (6) Semen ejaculates were collected from each ram for six (6) weeks using improvised artificial vagina and assessed for semen quality. From the result, the volume varied from 0.80±0.13-1.04±0.16mL, colour from 3.20±0.13-4.50±0.67 (milky to creamy), mass activity from 4.10±0.28-4.50±0.16, sperm individual motility from 91.10±3.24-95.10±0.43%, live spermatozoa (viability) 95.54±0.37-96.61±0.31%, and concentration from, 1981.60±357.31- 3545.60±453.92 x 106/mL. The concentration in Uda was significantly (P<0.05) lower (1981.60±357.31 x 106/mL) compared with Yankasa (3039.40±333.34 x 106/mL) and Balami (3545.60±453.92 x 106/mL), normal sperm cell varied from 94.58±0.58-97.51±0.78%, acrosome integrity from 97.88±0.38-98.43±0.05%, membrane integrity (Hypo Osmotic Swelling Test) from 91.96±1.02-95.93±0.20% and sperm index 338572±41559-560215±105829 x109. Therefore, it was concluded that all the selected Nigerian sheep can be used for breeding throughout the year without any effect on reproductive capability