Stand by for the era of the super ostrich.A technique to freeze ostrich semen and use it to artificially inseminate females during their most important reproductive months has been developed by a researcher at Stellenbosch University.“This should make it possible… to breed ostriches more specifically so that certain genetic superiority for traits of economic importance can be transmitted from generation to generation‚” the university said on Friday.The technique was developed by Marna Smith‚ who received her doctorate in animal sciences in March. "Better preservation methods of semen will make it possible to build up ostrich studs with pedigree information‚" she said.Using the technique‚ stored semen from elite birds of outstanding genetic merit could be bought from other studs to be used to fertilise eggs produced by female birds‚ said Stellenbosch University.Ostriches living in flocks use communal nests‚ which makes the assignment of pedigrees difficult."Genetic tests to assign pedigrees to chicks produced by free-ranging ostriches are available‚ but are not currently affordably for the wider industry‚" said Smith's study leader‚ Schalk Cloete‚ extraordinary professor in the university's Department of Animal Sciences and a member of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture research team.Smith's research and other studies will lead to an artificial insemination protocol which will mean farms and studs will be able to keep fewer male breeding birds."Fewer males or no males mean considerably lower costs and a higher profit margin for farmers‚" Smith said. "You also have to cope with fewer aggressive male birds‚ which make things safer for farm workers. Such advantages are already the norm in the dairy industry."The technology also makes it feasible to establish a biobank where semen from ostriches with good genetic traits can be stored. This can also be useful when colonies need to be rebuilt after a disease such as bird flu‚ during which affected animals have to be destroyed."After such a disease has run its course‚ one can use a biobank with good genetic material to re-establish a flock with the same genetic value‚" said Cloete.Smith has developed the first ostrich-specific dilutant for semen. She established the conditions under which ostrich semen can be cooled to 5ºC and stored for up to 48 hours while it is transported to farms. She also established how to freeze ostrich semen for indefinite periods in liquid nitrogen."There was no difference in the fertility of eggs laid by females inseminated with cooled or frozen semen‚ compared to those inseminated with fresh‚ untreated semen‚" said Smith.Some of her research findings have already been published in a number of scientific journals. In a paper in Animal Reproduction Science earlier this year‚ she detailed the characteristics needed to classify ostrich semen."These characteristics enable breeders to evaluate the potential fertility of the semen of male ostriches‚ and how suitable each would be for storage to be used in a more intensive breeding programme in future‚" Smith said.She proposes that this evaluation should take place in the spring and early summer‚ when male ostriches experience a peak in semen production.She completed a large part of her research at the Oudtshoorn experimental farm of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture. The research by this resident of Bot River in the Overberg forms part of a larger project on scientific ostrich breeding methods. Researchers of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture and students and staff of SU are involved in these efforts. – TMG Digital..