Pork Insight Articles

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Author(s): M. Baracaldo and J. Ward
Publication Date: April 1, 2008
Reference: London Swine Conference, 2008
Country: Canada

Summary:

Extended boar semen should regularly undergo testing to ensure producers are receiving a safe and effective product. Quality checks can involve analysing sperm motility, morphology, concentration, and numbers per dose, as well as dose volume. Samples should be randomly selected, and high producing studs should have 51/200 samples tested and low producing studs 27/200 samples. Alternatively, samples can be sent on a predetermined weekly, biweekly, or monthly schedule. The samples should be shipped to the laboratory using standard shipping protocol. On arrival the temperature of samples should be taken, volume measured, spermatozoa motility assessed, concentration and number of spermatozoa per dose counted, and morphology evaluated. Morphology can be evaluated by gross evaluation under a microscope, which is usually the technique used for pooled semen, or a detailed differential evaluation can be done if there is suspected sub-fertility. Semen can easily become contaminated by bacteria during collection, so bacterial cultures can be performed using a blood agar culture plate. If bacteria are found, they should be identified and antibiotic sensitivity performed, and the cause of contamination can also sometimes be identified. Regular assessments of boar semen will help identify areas to improve, and reassure producers of the quality they are receiving.

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