The trend in morphological growth of goat testis and its relationship to semen quality

S. Abdul Wahid and J. M. Yunus

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine the growth of testes and is relationship with body weight, age, libido and semen quality. Six male kids of each breed group comprising purebred Katjang (K), Anglo Nubian x Karjang (AK), Saanen x Katjang (SK), AK x K (AKK) and SK x K (SKK) were reared from birth to 2 years of age. At every 28 days, body weight and scrotal measurements (length, width and circumference) were measured. After weaning at 112 days of age, semen was collected using an artificial vagina for evaluation. The study showed that at one year old, Anglo Nubian x Katjang (AK) and Saanen x Katjang (SK) had the largest testes compared with the other breed groups. The scrotal measurements (length, width and circumference) were significantly correlated with body weight and age in all breed groups. As scrotal circumference is strongly related to fertility, the study showed that the first crosses of Anglo Nubian x Katjang (AK) and Saanen x Kadang (SK) bucks which had large scrotal circumference, produced large quantities of semen, possessed satisfactory libido, were more fertile than back crosses of SKK and AKK. Scrotal circumference together with other variables such as sperm motility and morphology could also be used as a tool for selection of bucks for breeding.

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