Preface

Chapter 7 **The Potential for Infectious Disease Contamination During the Artificial Insemination Procedure in Swine 117**

da Costa and Carlos Eduardo Real Pereira

Chapter 8 **The Role of Trans-Rectal Ultrasonography in Artificial**

**Insemination Program 141**

Chapter 9 **Energy Management of Mature Mammalian**

Alemayehu Lemma

**VI** Contents

**Spermatozoa 153** Joan E. Rodríguez-Gil

Chapter 10 **Artificial Insemination in Poultry 175** M.R. Bakst and J.S. Dymond

Emílio César Martins Pereira, Abelardo Silva Júnior, Eduardo Paulino

The extensive application of AI in domestic animals is demanding an efficient technique with high rate of success. Methods of improving the success of AI are subsequently emanating from continuous research in the areas of procuring the best quality semen that also require employing a rigours semen evaluation system. This book was prepared with an intention of creating a useful addition to an already available literature on different aspects of AI.

People involved in AI industry require up-to-date and relevant information in a more lucid and easily accessible way. Today, client education is increasingly becoming important and hence the mechanism to communicate pertinent research findings should only be through greater access to scholarly information. However, some of the most useful research findings published in scientific forums other than the common journals is still not accessible to all readers around the world. This is what makes InTech, as a pioneer open access publisher, an invaluable medium in meeting such needs.

Improvement in livestock resources can be achieved through the implementation of an efficient and reliable AI service, concomitantly with proper feeding, health care and management of livestock. Considering the economic investment in semen and other inputs, success must be judged on the basis of pregnancy rate to the first AI. Pregnancies resulting from AI largly originate from fertility level of the herd and semen quality. Collectively, errors in efficiency of AI result in high semen cost, poor conception rate, reduced cow production and net returns. An understanding of the impact of factors on the probability of success of AI is of primary importance to establish corrective measures. Despite the wide application and success of AI throughout the developed world, the success rate in many developing countries is still low.

The main objective of this book is to provide readers with scientific information on the role of high quality of semen in improving fertility and hence the success of AI. The book is divided in to ten chapters each addressing different aspects of AI in domestic animals. The first four chapters primarily focus on the importance of high semen quality in the success of AI and methods employed to improve semen quality. Research findings regarding the use of feed supplements in breeding animals, use of sex-sorted semen and modification of semen extenders in an attempt to improve semen quality have been dealt in detail. Chapters five and six address the female aspects including facts about the use anti-inflammatory drugs in the females, and the role of early pregnancy diagnosis in advancing the success rate of AI. Chapters seven through nine deals with aspects of advanced semen evaluation. Additional topic on AI in poultry has also been included. Totally over twenty-five authors and co-authors from different parts of the world have contributed to this work. Professional expertise from different continents, level of practices and interests have come together to produce a practicable compiled knowledge. This makes the book a valuable scholarly material for veterinarians working in AI industry, veterinary students, researchers and livestock practitioners.

> **Dr. Alemayehu Lemma** Department of Clinical Studies Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Addis Ababa University Ethiopia

**Chapter 1**

**The Importance of Semen Quality in AI Programs and**

In the last decades, livestock sector has undergone a process of biotechnology incorporation with the main goal of enhancing productivity and improving the genetic makeup. In this sense, artificial insemination (AI) is considered as the most important biotechnology incorporated into livestock production systems because it implies the use and/or globalization of proven

The wide use of bovine AI was mainly attributed to the development of methods that ensured cell viability after storage for long periods by reducing sperm metabolism, due to important

Nowadays, AI is considered as the most worldwide used reproductive biotechnology [3] with an extremely interesting benefit-cost relationship. Despite the unquestionable role of this biotechnology in improving productivity, many causes have accounted for the range in results and/or some unsatisfactory indices of bovine AI programs, highlighting several factors inherent to female physiology and/or farm management [4-9]. Nevertheless, another factor positively correlated with the AI outcomes that require appropriate attention, correspond to quality of semen samples used in the programs [10]. Therefore, the aim of this chapter is to review the importance of the quality of semen used in reproductive programs as well as the

and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2013 Oliveira et al.; licensee InTech. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2013 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution,

bulls, which represent a key tool in obtaining animals with higher genetic merit [1].

**Advances in Laboratory Analyses for Semen**

Leticia Zoccolaro Oliveira, Fabio Morato Monteiro,

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

progresses in studies involving cryoprotectants [2].

use of laboratory tests for predicting bull fertility.

**Characteristics Assessment**

Rubens Paes de Arruda and

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/52022

**1. Introduction**

Eneiva Carla Carvalho Celeghini
