Effect of lindane on eggshell characteristics and calcium level in the domestic duck

Adult laying domestic ducks ( Anas platyrhynchos domesticus ) were forced fed lindane (γ-hexachlorocyclohexane) 20 mg/kg body weight daily, thrice/ week and twice/week for 8 weeks. Significant shell thinning (18–21%) was observed in ducks with daily and thrice/week lindane feeding. SEM studies of thinned eggshells revealed reduced and tightly clustered mammillae with apparent decrease in intermammillary spaces and signs of inhibition of calcite formation. Such structural changes of thinned shells were associated with a significant reduction in the level of calcium both of the plasma and of shell gland of the ducks. Simultaneously, density of the pore in the shell and pore area/cm 2 of the shell in these birds were drastically reduced, presumably because of total absence of ‘large’ pores in such shells. Such porosity change is suggestive of reduced conductivity of eggshell implying impaired hatching success. Diethyl stilboestrol post-treatment neutralized all the adverse effects of lindane on duck eggshell, indicating induced estrogen deficiency in such birds by lindane.