Intravaginal Insemination of Japanese Quail: Factors Influencing the Basic Technique

THE details of a successful intravaginal procedure for the artificial insemination of Japanese quail were presented in a previous paper (Marks and Lepore, 1965a). Application of the procedure resulted in the laying of fertile eggs by 83 percent of the inseminated hens. The fertility of total eggs obtained during the 7 day test period averaged 56 percent and ranged from 45 to 73 percent. It was further noted that the presence of a hard-shelled egg in the uterus did not have an adverse effect upon fertility levels. The current study was conducted to obtain additional information about factors influencing the effectiveness of intravaginal insemination in quail. The variables tested included frequency and time of insemination, semen dosage, and semen dilution with and without antibiotics. EXPERIMENTAL Six series of tests were conducted which entailed the examination of approximately 3,000 eggs from 550 inseminated quail hens. For these tests, the quail were …