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1. Seventy Hubbard hens, 75 weeks of age, were divided into groups containing equal numbers of hens on the basis of duration of fertility. Average fertile periods were 14.5 d (long, L) and 6.9 d (short, S). Each hen was artificially inseminated (AI) on three consecutive days with an average of 1.61 X 10(9)/0.05 ml spermatozoa per insemination. Seven hens from each group were killed 1, 3, 6, 9, and 13 d after insemination. 2. Three longitudinal sections of uterovaginal junction were evaluated microscopically for spermatozoal storage capacity by assigning each sperm host gland (SHG) to one of 5 categories: unscorable, empty, one to 5 spermatozoa, 6 to 20 spermatozoa and greater than 20 spermatozoa. 3. The only significant difference in sperm storage at any time between the L and S duration groups occurred at day 1 after AI, when L duration hens possessed significantly more glands with more than 20 spermatozoa. 4. One day after AI the proportion of SHG containing sperm were 28.8% (L group) and 18.6% (S group). There was a significant decrease in the number of glands containing 1 to 5, 6 to 20 and greater than 20 spermatozoa between days 1 to 3 in both groups. 5. Numbers of glands in all categories containing sperm decreased throughout the 13-d period. The L duration group possessed 18.5% more glands with 1 to 5, 6 to 20 and greater than 20 spermatozoa than the S duration group. 6. There were no significant differences between groups in the proportion of unscorable or empty glands throughout, which ranged from 35.9 to 56.8% and 36.3 to 47.1%, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

One hundred sixty-two dwarf broiler breeder females were each inseminated at 4-wk intervals with either 30, 60, or 120 million spermatozoa repeated on 2 consecutive days. The experiment was conducted at two age periods, i.e., 32 to 41 wk (Period I) and 55 to 63 wk (Period II). Females during Period II had a significantly shorter duration of fertility than during Period I (P less than .0001). Also, the mean duration of fertility but not maximum percent fertility was improved in females inseminated with the highest doses compared with the lower doses of spermatozoa. Individual fertility results confirmed that a large majority of the females (81 to 93% during Period I and 62 to 76% during Period II) are capable of laying 100% fertile eggs for at least 7 days. The mean duration of fertility during Period II was longer in females primarily classified as having the longest duration of fertility in Period I. This confirms that duration of fertility is consistent during the reproductive life.

1. Uterovaginal junction (UVJ) tissues were collected 24 h after artificial insemination (AI) from 85- and 125-week-old broiler breeder hens in three physiological states: laying hard shell eggs (HS), laying shell-less eggs (SL) and non-laying (NL). This was confirmed by egg production records and visual appraisal of the oviduct at the time of necropsy. 2. Three longitudinal sections of each UVJ were evaluated microscopically and sperm host glands (SHG) were scored in 5 categories: glandular morphology evident but not lumen present, basophilic stained epithelium and no spermatoza present, glands that contained one to five spermatozoa; glands that contained 6 to 20 spermatozoa and glands that contained more than 20 spermatozoa. 3. Laying hens (HS and SL) at 85 weeks of age had significantly more sperm host glands (SHG) containing spermatozoa than NL hens. At 125 weeks of age HS and SL hens had significantly more unscorable glands. 4. The only category that showed no difference between age and physiological status group was the empty category. No significant differences were observed for any gland category in 82- and 125-week-old NL hens. 5. A greater proportion of the 85-week-old group of HS and SL hens had more SHG containing spermatozoa and fewer unscorable glands that the 125-week-old birds. The only category that showed any difference within the SL group was the low category.

Fertility among hens artificially inseminated (AI) at different stages of the laying sequence were compared in two experiments with broiler breed (Experiment 1) and egg-type hens (Experiment 2). The different stages of the laying sequence were prepause (PP)-oviposition without ovulation, pause (P)-no oviposition with or without ovulation, and nonpause (NP)-oviposition with ovulation. There were no significant differences among PP, P, and NP groups for duration or percent fertility in Experiment 1. Fertility and duration were significantly lower in PP than NP in Experiment 2. However, these differences were most likely caused by 36% of the PP hens ovipositing during the time of AI. Time of AI seems to be a more important factor in determining subsequent fertility than the day of AI during the laying sequence.

Two experiments using two populations of 160 broiler-type females in each were conducted to study the effect of time of day of artificial insemination and the effect of oviposition-insemination interval on fertility. Each population was subdivided into eight groups of 20 hens and inseminated with .05 ml of semen once a week at one of the following times: 2400, 0300, 0600, 0900, 1200, 1500, 1800, or 2100 hr for 5 weeks in Experiment 1 and for 6 weeks in Experiment 2. In Experiment 1, the highest level of fertility was obtained from hens inseminated at 2100 hr, while in Experiment 2, significantly higher levels of fertility were obtained from hens inseminated at 2100, 2400, and 0300 hr. In both experiments, fertility of females inseminated in mid-morning and mid-afternoon did not differ significantly and lower levels of fertility were obtained when hens oviposited within 3 hr after insemination. Lower fertility occurred when morning and mid-day inseminations were followed by oviposition within 3 hr after insemination.

The effects of hen age (28 to 31 vs. 49 to 52 weeks of age), sperm concentration (dose used for artificial insemination), and frequency of insemination on fertility and embryonic survival of dwarf broiler breeder hens were examined. Hens in Groups 1 and 2 were inseminated weekly with single doses of either 250 million (Group 1) or 125 million (Group 2) sperm during the 4 weeks of each period. Hens in Groups 3 and 4 were inseminated every other week with duplicate doses on 2 consecutive days, with 250 million sperm/dose in Group 3 and 125 million/dose in Group 4. Hens in Groups 5 and 6 were inseminated weekly with either 250 million (Group 5) or 125 million (Group 6) sperm dose, except the 1st week of each period when they received duplicate doses as in Groups 3 and 4. In Groups 1 and 2, insemination with weekly single doses of semen (250 or 125 million sperm) had no significant effect on fertility of young or old hens. Percent fertility during the 2nd week after artificial insemination was lower in Group 4 than in Group 3 (73.0 vs. 82.9 in young hens and 70.4 vs. 80.7 in old hens). There were no significant differences in fertility between semen doses or age periods in Groups 5 and 6. In these two groups, overall fertility ranged from 94.3 to 95.9%. Complementary studies on individual fertility and embryonic survival showed the beneficial effects of duplicate followed by single inseminations of moderate doses (125 million sperm) practiced at weekly intervals in old hens. This method should be of practical application in commercial practice.