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Abstract
The large-scale production of hatching eggs is the primary goal of the broiler breeder industry. Therefore, semen quality is of importance to the industry. The present work evaluated the effect of sperm mobility on semen quality in strains of commercial broiler breeders. Low and high sperm mobility phenotypes were identified within populations of broiler breeders. The phenotypes were not independent of age, yet remained distinct. Computer-assisted sperm motion analysis explained the mobility of sperm populations in terms of individual sperm cell motility. Fertility differed between phenotypes by 25%. Sperm from low mobility males contained more aberrant mitochondria when evaluated with transmission electron microscopy. Finally, males with heavier body weights had lower sperm mobility (P<0.0001). In summary, sperm mobility is indicative of semen quality in commercial broiler breeders. However, due to the negative relationship between body weight and sperm mobility, males should not be selected based upon sperm mobility alone.