Oral imipramine and intravenous xylazine for pharmacologically-induced ejaculation in donkeys

The aim of this study is to evaluate using chemical method by oral imipramine and intravenous injection of xylazine for semen collection from donkeys in a field condition. Five mature male donkeys were used in this study weighting 120-150 Kg, aged 2-4 years, kept in the animal house of the Veterinary Collage, University of Mosul. Semen collections were performed by administration of a combination of imipramine hydrochloride 3 mg/kg. BW orally then 2 hours later, intravenous xylazine hydrochloride was injection as 1.1 mg/kg BW then semen was collected in ballistic tube. A total of 29 ejaculates from 30 trials were collected successful with a successful rate up to 96.6%. Semen characteristics of these donkeys were volume 60.1±2.9 ml, individual motility 53.5±2.0%, sperm concentration 60.2±1.7×106/ml sperm abnormalities 9.5±3.3%, live sperm 57.2±4.5% and PH 7.3±1.8. It could be concluded that, chemical method could be used successfully for semen collection from donkeys.