Association of open field behavior with blood and semen characteristics in roosters: an alternative animal model

Introduction: The paucity of literature is addressed regarding the correlation between open field as an individual behavioral trait on reproductive capacity in animals. Materials and methods: To address this, Nine-month-old indigenous roosters were housed in individual cages. Each animal was observed twice a week for ten minutes before feeding in an open field apparatus for two weeks (7:00-12:00 PM). Results: Interestingly, it was found that rooster's semen characteristics were correlated with their open field behavior. On the other hand, plasma glucose level as a blood attribute was more correlated with semen characteristics. The open field monitoring also revealed that the roosters with the lowest delay to their first pace had the highest sperm forward motility and lower sperm abnormality. The heterophil to lymphocyte ratio (H:L) was found to be low when pace bout and pace numbers were 20 and 35, respectively. The negative correlation between H:L ratio and semen characteristics (live sperm percentage, sperm concentration, and membrane integrity) may be an indication of poor reproductive performance in fearful roosters with higher H:L ratio. Conclusions: The data suggested a relationship between open field behavior indices and some reproductive parameters in roosters. The results might be applicable for selection of more reproductive animals. Hence, the rooster may also be useful model for similar studies in other species. (C) 2017 Asociacion Espanola de Andrologia, Medicina Sexual y Reproductiva. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. All rights reserved.