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1. Tucaresol (589C80; 4[2-formyl-3-hydroxyphenoxymethyl] benzoic acid) interacts stoichiometrically with haemoglobin to increase oxygen affinity. By decreasing the proportion of insoluble deoxy sickle haemoglobin at capillary oxygen concentrations, tucaresol may be of therapeutic benefit in sickle cell anaemia. 2. In this study, which involved the first administration to man, the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of tucaresol were studied in healthy male volunteers following oral doses of 200-3600 mg. 3. Peak drug concentrations in plasma and erythrocytes were linearly related to dose; mean (s.d.) values were 95.8 (26.1) and 1035 (67) micrograms ml-1, respectively, at the highest dose. Median tmax in plasma was 6.5 h and in erythrocytes 24.5 h, when approximately 60% of the administered dose was in the target tissue. Plasma drug concentrations fell biexponentially with commencement of the apparent terminal elimination phase at approximately 24 h. The terminal elimination half-life from plasma increased with dose (r = 0.77; P < 0.0001) from 133-190 h at 400 mg to a mean (s.d.) of 289 (30) h at 3600 mg. Erythrocyte drug concentrations declined mono-exponentially with a half-life that was always shorter than the apparent terminal half-life in plasma: overall mean (95% CI) of t1/2 erythrocyte/t1/2 plasma ratio was 0.57 (0.53, 0.61). The erythrocyte AUC/plasma AUC ratio increased with dose (r = 0.67; P < 0.001). 4. The proportion of haemoglobin modified to a form with high oxygen affinity (%MOD) increased in a dose-related manner above doses of 800 mg reaching 19-26% after the 3600 mg dose.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

CHICKENS cannot survive very long when deprived of water. A ten percent loss of body water through dehydration and excretion results in serious physical disorders (Romanoff and Romanoff, 1949). Dehydration is particularly noticeable in the shanks, and some mortality may result as reported by Marble and Jeffrey (1955). Hoffman and Johnson (1946) reported chicks that have been without water can be readily identified because in their eagerness to drink they wet their plumage and have a bedraggled appearance for some time afterward. Kare and Biely (1948) placed New Hampshire chicks on diets containing .9 to 4.0 percent salt, and deprived them of water four to six hours per day. The water-restricted chicks compensated by drinking more when water was before them which resulted in approximately the same water:feed ratios as the controls with water ad libitum. In a study conducted by Ross (1960) one-week-old New Hampshire chicks were given…

DEVELOPMENT of a refractory condition leading to failure of the junco to produce eggs in an environment of long light days was observed by Wolfson (1952). A similar inability of turkey females to respond in egg production when exposed to long light days was reported by Harper and Parker (1957, 1960, 1962), Clayton and Robertson (1960), McCartney et al. (1961), Leighton and Shoffner (1961a, b, 1964), Wilson et al. (1962) Shoffner and Leighton (1962), Shoffner et al. (1962), Marsden et al. (1962), Ogasawara et al. (1962), and Wolford et al. (1963). In the above research control of the photoperiod to reduce light exposure prior to sexual maturity of turkey females was effective in terminating refractoriness. While the above experiments demonstrated a method of improving year around egg production of turkeys through a controlled light environment, it necessitated adequate buildings. The use of hormones to terminate refractoriness in turkey females hatched…

ALTHOUGH numerous studies concerned with photoperiodism on the sexual development of female chickens have been reported, most of them have involved Leghorn type birds and have been limited to the influence of lights during the rearing period. Also, most studies have limited light restriction to 6 or 8 hours although Rider (1938) and King (1961, 1962) reported pullets reared in darkness would come into egg production. Parker and McCluskey (1961) reported onset of semen production in cockerels on as little as a 1 hour single light period per day. This study involved heavy breed pullets reared and maintained on light periods as short as 1 hour per day. MATERIALS AND METHODS Chicks used in this experiment consisted of 21 Delaware pullets per treatment hatched November 11, 1961, from a flock maintained at the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station. They were reared from time of hatch on 1, 3, 9 and 13…

MOST the research reported on photoperiodism as related to avian reproduction has been concerned either with testis changes in wild birds or with egg production in domestic fowl. The male domestic fowl has received relatively little attention. The effects of varying the length of daily light periods on spermatogenesis and changes in testis size have been reviewed by numerous investigators including Lamoreux (1943a), Amoroso and Marshall (1960) and Romanoff (1960). Lamoreux also reported results of experiments showing the effect of the amount of daily light on semen production in White Leghorn and concluded that 12 hours or more of daily light were required to effectively stimulate semen production. He did not determine the effect of daily light periods on the fertilizing capacity of semen produced. Bonadonna and Pozzi (1955) observed that cocks “steadily kept in the dark,” as well as males kept under continuous illumination, produced smaller semen volumes than…

DURING the course of some investigations on the effect of male to female ratios on fertility in flock matings of chickens, it was observe d that when Dar k Cornish cockerels were mated to New Hampshire pullets, fertility appeared to be lower than when either Delaware or New Hampshire cockerels were used (Parker, 1958a). Increasing the relative numbers of Cornish males in the flocks from four to as many as eleven per 100 females did not increase fertility. The purposes of the following investigations were to compare the fertilizing capacity of Dark Cornish males with that of New Hampshire, Delaware, and Cornish × New Hampshire crossbred males in controlled experiments and to attempt to determine the factor or factors contributing to the differences in fertility. FERTILITY IN FLOCK MATINGS To compare the fertilizing capacity of Cornish cockerels with that of New Hampshire and Delaware cockerels three pens of approximately 100…

ARSCOTT AND PARKER (1963) have reported that adult White Leghorn males fed diets containing 16.9, 10.7 and 6.9 percent of protein over a 33-week period showed no adverse effects on semen volume, fertilizing capacity of semen or hatchability of fertile eggs. Since these results showed that protein levels considerably below those ordinarily fed to breeder flocks had no adverse effects and since the males in this investigation were kept in individual cages, an experiment was initiated to study the effect on reproductive performance of maintaining males together in floor pens on a low-protein diet. PROCEDURE Thirty adult White Leghorn males hatched April 22, 1964 were placed in two pens of a colony house on March 26, 1965. Prior to this the two groups of 15 males were flock-mated to two pens of about 240 similarly managed White Leghorn layers. Initial hatchability and fertility data involving 300 eggs were obtained during …

Three experiments were conducted to determine the effect of reserpine in terminating light refractoriness when the drug was incorporated in feed of young turkey hens 24 to 28 weeks of age. Results show that the drug at levels of 0.5, 0.75, 1.0 and 2.0 p.p.m. for two, three or four weeks produced inconsistent responses as measured by egg production when compared to restricted light to control refractoriness. Fertility, hatchability and embryonic morphology were not effected by the treatments. Body weight and feed consumption also were unaffected.

AS BREEDING males are one of the principal items of expense in producing chicken hatching eggs experiments were initiated in 1947 at the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station to determine the minimum number of males required in several kinds of flock matings for consistent high fertility. Results from experiments on male to female ratios as related to fertility of New Hampshire females flock mated to New Hampshire males have already been reported by Parker and Bernier (1950). Results from subsequent experiments in which New Hampshire females were flock mated to Delaware and Dark Cornish males at varying ratios are reported in this paper. Also included are results from matings of White Leghorn females flock mated to Black Australorp males. Pertinent literature on relative number of males to fertility has been reviewed (Parker and Bernier, 1950). Recently Raskopf (1957) from a study of 517 Tennessee hatchery flocks involving both heavy breeds and . . .

FERTILITY of eggs from flock matings of chickens is generally highest in the winter and spring months and decreases in the summer and fall as shown by Upp and Thompson (1927) and numerous other investigators since. It has also been reported by Parker and McSpadden (1943) and Wheeler and Andrews (1943) that chicken semen volumes decline during the summer and fall months. The above observations lead to the speculation that fertility in flock matings may be related to the volume of semen produced by the males. Malmstrom (1943) observed that fertility in flock matings declined when temperatures exceeded 47°F. and stated that this decline was probably because of reduced semen production in the males. Jones and Lamoreux (1942) observed that White Leghorn cockerels of a high-fecundity strain produced greater volume of semen than those of a low-fecundity strain. They also observed that fertility from natural matings was higher in the…

A MAJOR item of expense in producing hatching eggs is keeping male birds. The fact that some hatching egg producers use as many as 10 to 12 males per each 100 females suggests that the number of males kept in breeder flocks may not always be consistent with the most economical production of hatching eggs with high fertility. A review of the literature reveals that the published data on the relation of male to female ratio on fertility is scant. Byerly and Godfrey (1937) observed that fertility decreased in a linear fashion as the number of females per male increased. They found that fertility dropped from about 95 percent when the male to female ratio was 1 to 4 to 35 percent when the ratio was 166 to 1. In single male matings, Hays and Sanborn (1939) found that a range of 1 to 14 in the number of females . . .

SEASON and age are factors that have been shown to be related to fertility in chickens. A number of investigators including Upp and Thompson (1927), Funk (1938) and Parker (1956) have reported that fertility in breeder flocks decreased during the summer and fall months. The work of Heywang (1944) indicated that high temperature is a contributing factor to the summer decline in fertility. Parker and McSpadden (1943) and Wheeler and Andrews (1943) have shown that season influenced sperm production in males. Sperm production increased from December to April and then declined during the summer and fall. That cockerels usually fertilize a higher percentage of eggs than cocks has been demonstrated by Curtis and Lambert (1929), and Jull (1935). When the same males were mated as cockerels and later as cocks Jull observed that with White Leghorns there was a difference of 4.9 percent in fertility in favor of the cockerels, . . .

There are several reports that the presence of hard-shelled eggs in the uteri of chicken hens at the time of artificial insemination adversely affects fertilization (Moore and Byerly, 1942; Parker, 1945; Bornstein et al., 1960). More recent research indicates that fertility is impaired by the presence of a hard-shelled egg in the uterus only if A.I. is done within the last 3 or 4 hours prior to laying, and that hens laying within 1 or 2 hours prior to A.I. also have reduced fertility (Johnston and Parker, 1970; Hughes, 1970). This indicates that some factor other than the presence of a hard-shelled egg in the uterus or the act of oviposition per se is responsible for the decreased fertilization rate. Since neurohypophysial hormones are known to cause oviposition in hens and the blood level of vasotocin increases greatly shortly before oviposition (Douglas and Sturkie, 1964), it is conceivable that these hormones may affect fertilization of hens inseminated near the time of oviposition.…

The view that fertility is not an inherited characteristic in fowls has prevailed until recently. Investigations by Gowe and Hutt (1949) and Hays (1949) with chickens provide evidence of a genetic relationship. Results from an experiment at this station with turkeys provide additional information relative to inherited differences between families with respect to fertility and duration of fertility. A pen of 50 Broad Breasted Bronze females representing ten families obtained from single tom matings of the previous spring were used for the experiment. The hens were maintained in an outside yard with access to a range shelter. Artificial lights were used beginning January 15, 1949. An adequate breeder mash was fed free choice along with a grain mixture limited to one-fourth pound per bird each day. Individual trapnest and incubation records were maintained. Eggs were set at two-week intervals in a forced-draft electric incubator. Fertility was based on broken-out appearance . . .

RESULTS of experiments reported by Moore and Byerly (1942), and Parker (1945) with artificially inseminated hens suggest that restricting the mating of chickens to the afternoon should increase fertility. Moore and Byerly showed that the percentage of fertile eggs laid following the artificial insemination of hens with a hard-shell egg in the uterus was lower than that obtained following the insemination of hens that had just laid or of hens that had a soft-shell egg in the oviduct. Their results indicate that, for highest fertility, hens should be inseminated at a time when fewest of them have hard-shell eggs in their oviducts. Hens artificially inseminated in the afternoon were found by Parker to have higher fertility and hatchability than hens inseminated in the morning. Under natural mating conditions Gracewski and Scott (1943) found that restricting the sexual activity of the males to the afternoons increased fertility significantly. In order to . . .

In studying the effect of nutrition on fertility in adult male chickens (Arscott and Parker, 1967), we observed that some White Leghorn males appeared more nervous and agitated than others during the process of collecting semen. It was considered possible that this might result in lower semen volumes. The purpose of this experiment was to determine if the inclusion of a tranquilizer in the diet of these males affected semen volume and other reproductive characteristics. A review of the literature provided very little information specifically related to adult male chickens. Hewitt and Reynolds (1957) reported that 7 p.p.m. of reserpine in the diet of adult ring-neck pheasants prevented fighting in cocks. A decrease in fertility also was observed. Whether or not this effect was attributed to either the males or the females was not determined. Adverse effects on egg production, fertility and hatchability have been noted also with turkey breeders …

Synopsis Results from three trials in which 4,810 eggs were incubated showed no relation between current rate of lay and fertility following artificial insemination of the chickens. The correlation coefficients calculated from data on individual pullets were statistically nonsignificant, being +0.071, +0.144 and ‐0.040 for the first, second and third trials, respectively. There was also no significant correlation between current rate of lay and hatchability.

Summary. Three groups of White Leghorn cocks were fed rations containing 2557, 2956 and 3353 kcal/kg of metabolizable energy over a 40-week period. The first, the control ration, provided the approximate maintenance level when daily intake did not exceed 90 g/bird. Semen was collected ten times from each male by abdominal massage during the experiment and the fertilizing capacity of each ejaculate was determined by artificial insemination. At the end of the experiment, the males on the 2956- and 3353-kcal rations weighed 12\m=.\5%and 18% more than at the start. Both the thickness of the layer of abdominal\x=req-\ wall fat and the weight of this layer plus the gizzard fat increased as caloric intake increased. Obesity, within the limits obtained in these experiments without artificially stimulated hyperphagia or forced\x=req-\ feeding, had no significant effect on testicular weights or on the volume and sperm density of semen. There were no consistent significant differences in the fertilizing capacity of the semen, as determined by artificial insemination, nor in the hatchability of fertile eggs.

Moore and Byerly (1942) and Malmstrom (1943) showed that chicken hens laid a lower percentage of fertile eggs if they had a hard-shelled egg in the uterus at the time of artificial insemination. This suggests that for high fertility, hens should not be inseminated when a high percentage of them have hard-shelled eggs in their oviducts. In naturally mated flocks both Gracewski and Scott (1943) and Parker (1950) observed that fertility of eggs was higher when mating was restricted to the afternoon as compared with the forenoon. Parker (1945) and Bornstein et al. (1960) reported higher fertility from p.m. than from a.m. artificial inseminations although a less pronounced difference was reported by the latter. To determine the effects of the time of artificial inseminations and of the length of the following egg-saving period on fertility two experiments were conducted with White Leghorn chickens. In the first, 16 rows of 15…

Previous investigations have shown that the percentage of fertile eggs laid following artificial insemination of chicken hens in the morning is lower than that from hens inseminated in the afternoon (Parker, 1945; Bornstein et al., 1960). A generally accepted explanation is that more hens have hard-shelled eggs in their uteri in the morning. Several investigators have reported that fertility of hens with hard-shelled eggs in their uteri at the time of insemination is lower than that from other hens (Moore and Byerly, 1942; Malmstrom, 1943; Parker, 1945; Bornstein et al., 1960). However, more recent results (Parker and Arscott, 1965) showing that fertility from hens inseminated at 9 p.m. was comparable to that of hens inseminated at mid-afternoon are not in accord with the above explanation since most of the hens inseminated at 9 p.m. had eggs in their uteri at the time of insemination—many with hard shells. This suggests…

It is a rather common belief among breeders of Broad Breasted Bronze turkeys that large, wide-breasted birds are less efficient producers of eggs and poults than smaller type turkeys with narrower breasts. Many feel that the continued selection of breeding stock for size and breast width is a major factor contributing to the mediocre fertility and hatchability often experienced in breeder flocks of Broad Breasted Bronze turkeys. Recent observations by Kish (1948) indicate that in chickens, eggs from wide breasted females do not hatch as well as eggs from narrower breasted females. During the 1947 breeding season, breast width measurements and body weights were obtained on 146 Broad Breasted Bronze turkey hens that were trapnested from the time egg production commenced during the first week in February to May 17. Breast width was determined by the use of a flexible lead tape at a point 1½ inches from the bottom . . .