Abstract
This experiment was designed to determine the contribution, if any, of posthatching gonadal hormones to sexual differentiation of behavior in Japanese quail ( Coturnix coturnix japonica). Males and females were gonadectomized or shamoperated (controls) prior to age 7 days posthatching. At age 4–9 weeks controls were gonadectomized. All birds were then given 2 weeks of testosterone propionate injections and tested for sexual behavior with female partners. Neonatally gonadectomized females exhibited more male-typical copulatory behavior than control females, but this effect was not statistically significant. Neonatal gonadectomy had no effect on males, and neonatally gonadectomized males exhibited significantly more male-typical copulatory behavior than neonatally gonadectomized females. Although the process of sexual differentiation may extend to a minor degree into the posthatching period in females, nonetheless it is largely complete at hatching in this species.
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