Standardization of Home-Made Skimmed Cow Milk with Sodium Citrate Buffer for Dilution and Cold Storage of Turkey Semen
Adedeji, Suleimon Balogun*, Akintunde, Akinbola Akinosun, Maruf, Naimot. B Adeyinka, Joshua Adegoke, Ibrahim Temitope Raji and Barakat, Bishola Hammed.
Department of Animal Production Technology, Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, Igboora. Oyo State. Nigeria
Abstract
Low volume and highly viscous nature of turkey semen calls for needs to process and standardize cow milk close in appearance and less harmful to sperm cells, for effective dilution and liquid storage of turkey semen. This experiment therefore aimed at optimizing home-made skimmed cow milk (HSCM) prepared from fresh cow milk (FCM) for extension and liquid storage of tom semen. Extenders containing different concentration of HSCM via: 25%, 50%; 75% and 100 were formulated. Five toms were milked every week for semen collection and pooled together, then divided into five portions for a period of four weeks. Semen was diluted with each extender in ratio of 1:3 (semen: extender). Samples were examined under microscope and recorded for both extended and un-extended semen samples stored for 48h at 4oC. The result revealed that at 0h, un-extended semen had significantly (p<0.05) lowest motile sperm of compared to extended tom semen. At 4h of preservation, 75% HSCM was significantly (p<0.05) higher in sperm motility and membrane integrity compared to other treatments. At 24h and 48h, 75% HSCM have significantly (p>0.05) higher in motile sperm and intact membrane compare to other treatments. Better percentage livability of preserved tom sperm observed in 75% and 50% HSCM at 0h and 4h of storage. At 24h, tom semen preserved in 100% HSCM has highest non-significant percentage live sperms. While at 48h, semen stored in 75% HSCM has highest non-significant percentage live sperms. The extender containing 75% HSCM and 25% sodium citrate buffer maintained better sperm activities compared to the other samples.
Keywords: Skimmed milk; Home-made; Tom; Semen; Liquid Storage
Submitted: 09-05-2025; Accepted: 23-11-2025; Published: 15-12-2025
Full length article *Corresponding Author, e-mail: balogunadedeji001@gmail.com