Testes are paired, small ovoid structures lying on the dorsal body wall, on either side of the vertebral column and anterior to the kidneys. The testes are reddish-yellow in colour. The left kidney is slightly larger than the right one
The testis is formed of numerous slender seminiferous tubules, inside which spermatogenesis takes place. From each tubule arises the vas deferens, which join together to form the long coiled epididymis. The epididymis of each side continues down as the vas deferens and terminates in the cloaca
Puberty in a cockerel (immature male) is defined as the age when spermatozoa first appear in ejaculated semen
Sperms undergo maturation in the epididymis and attain the power of motility here. The sperms are carried down with the seminal secretion into the cloaca from where they are discharged during copulation
The number of fully formed sperms released from the seminiferous epithelium into the lumen is known as “Spermiation”.
The pH of the semen varies between 7.45 to 7.63.
Daily sperm output in cocks is about 2000×10 6 while in toms it is about less than 1120×106 .
On the median ventral portion of the cloaca is a small button-like structure called copulatory papilla, which is the rudimentary copulatory organ
During copulation the papilla of male and female are everted and pressed together so that sperms are ejected directly into the female urodeum, from where they are squeezed into the oviduct by the contraction of the urodeum. A temperature, lower than that of the body at the nodule, probably hastens maturity of the sperms
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