EFFECT OF FOUR DIFFERENT AVIAN EGG YOLKS TRI- SODIUM CITRATE EXTENDER ON STORAGE TIME OF FRIESIAN X BUNAJI SEMEN CHARACTERISTIC

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of four different avian egg yolk tri-sodium citrate extender on FriesianxBunaji semen characteristics at the Artificial Insemination Unit of the National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI), Ahmadu Bello University, Shika-Zaria, Nigeria.Three (3) FriesianxBunaji bulls between 2-3 years of age were used for the experiment. Semen was collected with the aid of an artificial vagina for five weeks on a weekly interval. Four (4) types of extenders were prepared using egg yolk from four avian species namely; chicken, guinea fowl, turkey and quail stored at 0, 24, 48 and 72 hours, respectively. The experiment showed that egg yolks had significant effect (P<0.05) on motility, viability and total abnormalities of bovine spermatozoa. Chicken egg yolk Tris-sodium citrate extender had significantly higher (P<0.05) motility and viability with lower (P<0.05) total abnormalities after 72 hours. Turkey egg yolk extender had significantly lower (P<0.05) motile, viable sperm cells and higher (P<0.05) total abnormalities. Quail egg yolk extender had significantly lower (P<0.05) sperm abnormalities than turkey egg yolk extender though there was no significant difference in their motility after 72 hour.It was concluded that chicken egg yolk extender is the bestin cryopreservation of bull semen and is followed by quail egg yolk.