SEMEN CHARACTERISTICS OF MONGREL RABBITS BUCKS (Oryctolagus cuniculus) ADMINISTERED CITRUS LIMON JUICE

Abstract

The study was conducted to assess the effect of oral administration of levels of Citrus limon juice on semen characteristics of mongrel rabbit bucks. The rabbits were randomly allocated into four treatments containing 0% (control), 25%, 50% and 75% fresh citrus lemon juice respectively. A total of 24 mongrel rabbit bucks were used for the study. The bucks were allotted to the four treatments (T1, T2, T3 and T4) with two rabbits per replicate and six rabbits per treatment. The trial lasted for 8 weeks. Effects of the administered levels of Citrus limon on semen characteristics were elicited on the results. Semen was collected using artificial vagina specially designed for rabbits using a doe as a teaser. The result revealed that the semen volume, sperm concentration and live sperm cells percentage differed significantly (P<0.05) while sperm motility and abnormal sperm cells were not significantly affected (P>0.05) by oral administration of levels of Citrus limon juice. Hence, Citrus limon juice can be administered orally up to 75% concentration to rabbit bucks without adverse effect on the semen characteristics