Does neonatal gonadectomy affect the sexual differentiation of quail?

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.