At Strafford Vet we offer semen evaluations for all intact breeding males. This can be done in addition to a reproductive exam or as a stand alone evaluation. We recommend having a semen evaluation done on your male after puberty and before reproductive maturity, so around 10 to 14 months of age depending on breed.
There are multiple measurements looked at during a semen evaluation such as total volume of the collection, concentration of sperm cells in the collection, progressive motility (forward movement) of the sperm cells, and the morphology of the sperm cells. The closeness to the required breeding dose, 150 million sperm cells per mL of collection, will determine if a male passes or fails as a breeding candidate.