Daily sperm production of the domestic fowl (Gallus domesticus) as determined by quantitative testicular histology and homogenate methods

The daily spermatozoa production was studied in 20 each of sexually matured barred Plymouth Rock and Nigerian indigenous breeds of domestic fowl using both the histometric and testicular homogenate methods. The exotic cocks were significantly (p < 0.01) heavier than the locals with the respective values of 2.11 +/- 0.05 and 1.58 +/- 0.02 kg. The exotic also had larger (p < 0.01) gross testicular weight (21.58 +/- 1.46 vs. 12.56 +/- 0.91 g), paired testicular parenchymal weight (20.47 +/- 0.40 vs. 11.96 +/- 0.82 g) and paired tunica albuginea (1.11 +/- 0.18 vs. 0.60 +/- 0.11 g). The total length and the diameter of the seminiferous tubules were also significantly influenced (p < 0.01) by breed. The volume percent occupied by seminiferous tubules though higher in the exotic birds showed no statistical significance. Daily sperm production obtained from histometric method was highly influenced by breed with 2.41 +/- 1.17 x 10(9) and 0.76 +/- 0.71 x 10(9) for exotic and local cocks, respectively. The daily sperm productions calculated on the basis of homogenization-resistant spermatids were 1.85 +/- 0.22 for exotic and 0.73 +/- 0.11 for locals. Although, the difference in DSP values based on both methods was not statistically significant there was a 23.24 and 3.90% loss in exotic and local birds respectively with the use of homogenization method. On the whole, the exotic cocks were twice as efficient in sperm production as the local birds.