Technical Key Points of Artificial Insemination in Turkey Breeding

In order to solve the problem of difficult mating in large turkeys and to improve the utilization rate of breeding male turkeys and the fertility rate of breeding eggs, the method of artificial insemination should be adopted for mating. During artificial insemination, strong male turkeys of excellent quality must be selected. Each male turkey can simultaneously inseminate more than 15 female turkeys; at this ratio, the breeding value of turkey poults can be improved, and feed and expense outlays can also be saved at the same time. Large turkeys are big and clumsy, and mating is very difficult; cases of trampling damaging the cloaca and injuring female turkeys often occur. Adopting the method of artificial insemination can solve these difficulties. At the same time, it can also increase the fertility rate of breeding eggs.

Mating by artificial insemination gives a more ideal fertility rate than natural mating, because the number of inseminations and the amount of semen can both be controlled by people. After a female turkey is inseminated, fertilization can occur at 26/]; the duration of fertility of breeding eggs is longer than that of chickens, of which 60-70% can reach 2c days, after which the fertility rate gradually declines; sometimes fertilization can still occur 42-45 days after insemination. Although turkey sperm survive for a relatively long time in the reproductive tract of the female turkey, the fertility rate of medium and small turkeys also decreases at the end of the breeding season. In order to make full use of the turkey breeding season to increase the fertility rate of breeding eggs, abroad, medium and small turkeys are also often mated by artificial insemination.