ACTION OF VASOPRESSIN AND OXYTOCIN IN CAUSING PREMATURE OVIPOSITION BY DOMESTIC FOWL

Abstract

IN A PREVIOUS INVESTIGATION of the effect of pituitrin in causing the premature expulsion of avian eggs, a reaction first described by Riddle (1) in 1921, Burrows and Byerly (2, 3) found that eggs up to 20 hours of prematurity could be obtained from the domestic fowl within a few minutes following injection. In the present study the effects of preparations of relatively purified oxytocin and vasopressin on premature oviposition by the hen have been determined. The results indicate that premature oviposition can be effected by vasopressin alone, but that oxytocin when present in sufficiently high concentrations may also contribute to the reaction. White Leghorn hens in their first year of production and Rhode Island Red hens in their second year of production were used in about equal numbers. The hens were kept in laying batteries, and hourly laying records were maintained regularly from 8:00 AM. to 4:00 P.M.