Effects of Type of Extender and Storage Conditions on the Motility of Goat Spermatozoa

The objective of this study was to test the effect of four different diluents on the motility of goat semen stored at room and refrigerator temperatures. To achieve this objective, four West African dwarf bucks aged 10-12 months were ejaculated weekly for five weeks using the electro-ejaculator method. The ejaculated semen were extended using four diluents namely sodium citrate (T1), sodium bicarbonate plus glucose (T2), sodium citrate plus glycine (T3), and glucose plus glycine (T4). Two storage conditions namely refrigerator temperature (5oC) and room temperature (25oC) were used. The semen was evaluated for colour, volume and motility before extending them with the diluents. Subsequently, motility was monitored for four days. The results indicated that storage days and type of extender were highly significant (p<0.01) thoroughout the period. The highest motility was obtained during the first day of storage, thereafter, the motility declined drastically from day 2 to day 4. Sodium citrate preserved bucks semen better than the other extenders. This was followed by sodium bicarbonate plus glucose. Refrigerator temperature was significantly (p<0.05, p<0.01) better than room temperature in the preservation of bucks sperm motility. The semen stored in sodium citrate under refrigerator temperature maintained the highest spermatozoa motility throughout the period compared with the other storage conditions. It was concluded that goat semen can be preserved for 24 h in sodium citrate under refrigerator temperature.