Effect of Cold Storage on Livability and Progressive Motility of Cauda Epididymal Spermatozoa of Red Sokoto Buck Recovered Post Mortem

Post mortem spermatozoa recovery is an important tool for harvesting germplasm. The study aimed to determine the effect of cold storage time at 4°C for 48 and 72 hours on the quality of sperm of Red Sokoto buck caudal epididymaly spermatozoa in terms of motility and livability recovered postmortem. Fifteen testicles with attached epididymis were collected and processed at 0, 48, and 72 hours of storage. The samples were divided into 3 groups according to the time processing after collection ; 0 hour, 48 hours and 72 hours, with a total of 5 samples per group. Each storage group motility and livability was evaluated, mean and the standard error of their mean was recorded. Mean percent sperm motility declined significantly ( p< 0.05) as postmortem storage time increased ( motility: 79.00+/- 2.92%, 40.00+/- 4.18, 37.00+/- 3.39) .There was no significant (p> 0.05) decrease in livability from the 0 hour storage to the 48 hour and 72 hours storage ( 75.60+/- 4.40, 73.60+/- 3.84, 68.20+/- 2.51). The current study has shown that viable spermatozoa can be recovered after 48 hours of storage at 4˚C of the cauda epididymides Red Sokoto buck.