COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF RABBITS’ RESPONSES AND SEMEN QUALITY OF SEMEN COLLECTED USING A DEVELOPED DUMMY AND A CONVENTIONAL ARTIFICIAL VAGINA

Abstract

The use of artificial insemination for improving productivity in farm animals is undisputable. However, its success depends on the quality of semen collected which can be influenced by semen collection methods. This study compared the effects of two semen collection methods – a developed dummy and a conventional artificial vagina (AV) on rabbits’ responses and semen quality. Twenty-four (24) sexually matured-male rabbits (bucks) and 2 sexually-matured female rabbits (does) were randomly assigned to two groups: dummy (n=12) and AV (n=12). Acceptability for dummy (14.30%) was lower than CAV (83.30%). Training period and reaction time was longer for dummy (28 days, 8.92 secs) than CAV (3 days, 3.02 secs). Results showed that colour, odour and viscosity were the same. There were similarities observed for concentration, individual motility, massal motility, volume and % live and dead were within acceptable range for rabbits. Percent abnormal and normal and pH for the CAV method was significantly (P<0.05) different from the Dummy. These findings suggest that the developed dummy can serve as an alternative for semen collection in rabbits, offering similar semen quality and reduced stress for the animals