Relationship of cloacal gland with testes, testosterone and fertility in different lines of male Japanese quail

Abstract

An attempt has been made to investigate the relationship of cloacal gland with testes, testosterone and fertility in different lines of Japanese quail ( Coturnix coturnix japonica). For this study, three lines of healthy adult male Japanese quails (<12 weeks) viz., heavy body weight (HB), white breasted (WB), and white egg shell (WES) were taken. They were housed in individual cages under uniform husbandry conditions and were provided with normal quail breeder ration and water ad libitum, with 14 h light/day. The experimental birds were selected from each of these three lines and categorized into different groups (15 birds/group) based on the increasing order of the area of cloacal gland. At the end of this experiment (24 weeks) the data indicated that size of the cloacal gland was directly proportional to foam discharge, foam weight, testicular weight, fertility and testosterone concentration in plasma. From this study it may be concluded that area of cloacal gland in Japanese quail is positively correlated with testicular weight, level of testosterone in plasma and fertility. Visual examination of cloacal gland and cloacal foam may provide a valuable non-invasive tool for predicting the fertilizing ability of individual male bird.