Seasonal Influences on Kabashi Ram Semen Characteristics

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the influences of the seasons of the year on semen characteristics of Kabashi rams. The semen characteristics studied were: volume, mass motility, individual motility, percent of lives and dead sperm, sperm cell concentration and morphological defect. Four Kabashi ram, aging 2 – 3 year were used to evaluate the influences of season on the semen characteristics stated above. A total of 192 samples of semen were collected by Artificial Vagina during 3 seasons (64 samples each season, 16 samples from each ram). They were evaluated macroscopically and microscopically, the result of this study revealed that the season of the year has significant (P<0.5) effect on semen characteristics except the morphological defects. It is concluded that the season of the year influences semen characteristics of Kabashi rams with better semen characteristics during winter.