Semen collection and artificial insemination in geese

Abstract

Water fowls are characterized by distinguished traits as regards their reproductive performance which made these birds different than other birds with relation to the anatomy of their reproductive systems and sexual behavior. Respecting their anatomy the males of water fowl had natural reproductive organs with spiral shape and the females of water fowl contain vagina with curvy grooves. Concerning sexual behavior the water fowls had distinct behavior for instance they prefer to mate on water and also they are seasonal breeding birds. However, the goose can refuse the gander and the gander also prefers to mate with the same goose for his whole life and this make the breeding of this species of bird is economically useless. For this reasons many countries that interested in breeding of water fowl as replacement and integral source of meat to adopt artificial insemination programs for overcome these phenomena in reproductive behavior, in addition to great benefits of artificial insemination technique which in consequence reflected on economic returns obtained from breeding these birds. In Iraq, unfortunately the ducks and geese are still reared secondary on a very small scale by limited breeders and mainly by some inhabitants. This primarily due to several reasons including that poultry breeders don’t possess sufficient experience with respect to rearing these species of birds and other reasons related with the eating habits for Iraqi consumers. On the other hand, the techniques of artificial insemination in birds in Iraq, in general, still practiced on a very small scale and limited in scientific research and researches of graduate students. Therefore, the current study was conducted as an attempt to apply the process of collecting semen from ganders and artificial insemination of geese by using new techniques