Seasonal and genera-specific variations in semen availability and semen characteristics in large parrots

In large parrots electro-stimulation is suitable for collecting semen, and therefore, to facilitate semen examination and artificial insemination. Previous studies have detected differences in the semen collection success rate and semen parameters between psittacine genera. It remained unclear whether these differences were genera-related, seasonal variations or depend on the males' relationship status. To answer these questions, semen collection and spermatological analysis were performed for four psittacine groups (macaws, amazons, eclectus parrots and cockatoos) over 13 months. In one breeding facility, semen collection was attempted in 82 males using electro-stimulation twice monthly. A complete spermatological evaluation was performed on 435 semen samples. Volume, color, consistency, contamination and pH of semen, as well as motility, progressive motility, sperm concentration, total sperm count, viability, and morphology of spermatozoa were evaluated. Seasonality affected the collection success rate in macaws and amazons. Thereby, in amazons a distinct peak was observed several days before and around oviposition, whereas eclectus parrots and cockatoos produced semen all year round. The average sperm concentration was highest in eclectus parrots (2.7 × 10⁶ sperm/μl) and lowest in macaws (35.6 × 10³ sperm/μl). The differences in the semen collection success rate and semen parameters seem to coincide with the bird's breeding biology. The collected data allows a prognostic estimation when semen collection seems favorable, and may be taken as orientation values for semen analysis in these species.