Abstract
For the first time in our country for the purposes of artificial insemination, semen was regularly obtained from trained boars of the East Balkan Swine breed. The aim of the study was to determine ejaculate volume, concentration, number of doses for insemination. The study covered the period from October 2023 to May 2024, and seventy-seven ejaculates from ten boars were examined. Analysis revealed an average volume of the ejaculate of 161.417 ± 5.281 ml, with the minimum and maximum values being within very wide range – 40 ÷ 300 ml. Sperm concentration and total concentration were, respectively, 0.575 x109/ml ± 0.012, and 90.89 x109/ml ± 2.675. The reported mean number of doses received from one ejaculate was 10.618 ± 0.43. The boar as a fixed factor had a significant effect on the studied parameters of the sperm (p<0.001). The month of semen collection appeared to be a significant source of variation in the total concentration and number of insemination doses. The boar, as a factor within the year, significantly influenced ejaculate volume and concentration (p<0.001), as well as total concentration (p<0.05). In the analysis of monthly dynamics of the main semen traits, lower values were observed for most traits during the first two months of the experiment. Despite the relatively aggressive temperament of animals from primitive breeds like the East Balkan Swine breed, obtaining semen manually was entirely feasible and applicable with appropriate training and adaptation of animals.
Keywords: East Balkan Swine, boars, sperm concentration, ejaculate volume