Relationship between cloacal gland size and physio-biochemical characteristics of semen in two lines of Japanese quail

An experiment was conducted to investigate the relationship between cloacal gland size and the physio-biochemical characteristics of semen in heavy body weight (HB) and white feathered (WF) line of Japanese quail. Sixty adult male birds (six week old) of the same hatch from each line were divided equally into three groups (I, II and III) based on cloacal gland size <225 mm², 225–425 mm² and >425 mm²,respectively. Birds having bigger cloacal gland produced higher volume of semen in both the lines. Sperm abnormalities (live and dead) were more (P<0.05) in white feathered line compared to the heavy body weight line. Mono-valent cations viz. Na⁺ and K⁺ in seminal plasma were found higher (P<0.05) in birds with bigger gland size whereas the reverse picture was true for divalent cations viz. Mg⁺⁺ and Ca⁺⁺. Exceptionally higher level (P<0.05) of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was found in semen of Japanese quail. Metabolic activity of quail spermatozoa was significantly higher (P<0.05), which was reflected by lower MBRT (methylene blue reduction time). Significant differences (P<0.05) in MBRT were observed between the lines (HB and WF). It was concluded that the cloacal gland size is related with different physio-chemical characteristics in quail semen.