Effect of insemination intervals on oviducal sperm storage in turkeys

Filling and emptying of sperm storage sites of the turkey oviduct were studied using tandem inseminations with semen from bronze and white males. Fertility was better among hens inseminated at weekly intervals than those inseminated at biweekly intervals. The rate of gland filling and emptying was unaffected by weekly and biweekly insemination intervals. However, gland filling and emptying were affected when the birds were inseminated early in a reproductive cycle, and stratification of spermatozoa occurred within the sperm-host glands. Stratification may have occurred to a lesser degree late in the reproductive cycle. It is suggested that sperm storage glands fill and empty at the same rates early and late in a breeding cycle, but fewer glands contain spermatozoa in the latter part of the season, resulting in a decreased fertility.