EXPLORING THE INFLUENCE OF NON-GENETIC FACTORS ON SEMEN PRODUCTION TRAITS IN KANNI ADU BUCKS

The selection of breeding bucks stands as a pivotal decision in both organised and field populations aiming for genetic enhancement. Incorporating bucks with high genetic merit into breeding programme holds the potential to significantly elevate the overall productivity of the stock. This, in turn, serves to augment the economic viability of rural goat keepers who adhere to zero-input management systems. Hence, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the influence exerted by non-genetic factors on semen characteristics among bucks within a particular breed is imperative for effective breeding management. In this study, a total of 108 ejaculates from four adult Kanni Adu bucks were analysed to determine the effect of season and order of the ejaculate on conventional semen attributes using linear mixed models with lme4 package in R software. The estimated marginal means for semen volume (ml), sperm concentration (million per ml), mass activity (0 to 5 scale), initial, pre-freeze and post-thaw sperm motility (per cent) were 0.623 ± 0.056, 3841.00 ± 238.00, 4.73 ± 0.08, 86.87 ± 0.02, 85.49 ± 0.01 and 56.15 ± 0.01 respectively.