Abstract
The results of five experiments are reported which examined the effects of storage methods, volume of storage and length of storage on the survival of ram spermatozoa stored at ambient temperatures (22-28°C). Storage in McCartney bottles was compared with storage in a flow dialysis system. The motility of ram spermatozoa was better preserved under the flow dialysis method than in McCartney bottles over a storage period of four days (73 vs 66%) or 10 days (45.0 vs 31.4%). Storage in a continuous flow dialysis system yielded results similar to storage in a discontinuous flow dialysis system (44.8 vs 46.2%) over a period of eight days. Lower storage volume in dialysis bags (0.5 and 1.0 ml) was better for preserving the motility of spermatozoa.
