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Sperm Survival in the Genital Tract of the Ewe^*

University of Missouri and the United States Department of Agriculture Cooperating

Abstract

The problem of the sheep breeder, with fewer good rams than ordinary breeding practices require, is to conserve the breeding energies of these rams so that they can inseminate all the ewes. Restricted breeding and artificial insemination offer two solutions to the problem. For either of these to be effective it is necessary to know the optimum time to breed. The Russians, with their large experimental flocks, have attacked the problem directly. With our few ewes it seemed wiser to study how soon sperm would reach the upper end of the female tract and how long they would be normal in that environment.

Thirty-four grade Ramboillet ewes were inseminated artificially or by regular service approximately two, twelve or twenty-two hours before they were slaughtered. The genital tracts were removed with as little manipulation as possible and separated into fallopian tubes, uterine horns, cervix, and vagina. The hydrogenion concentration of a drop of fluid from each region was measured with a small quinhydrone electrode.

^* Contribution from the Department of Animal Husbandry, Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station, Journal Series No. 540.