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Poultry breeding
The System
Effect of Light |
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The chicken has only one ovary, usually on the left side; the one on the right stops developing when the female chick hatches. The ovary is made up of a cluster of sacs that contain thousands of tiny ova. Each ovum is contained within its own follicle. As the pullet matures, the ova develop, a few at a time, into yolks with a single female cell within a white spot called the blastodisc on the surface. When the follicle of the mature ovum ruptures, the yolk is released into the infundibulum. This is the entrance of the oviduct or reproductive tract.
The male bird has two testes, but these do not descend into an external scrotum, as is the case with other farm animals. Each testis is made up of a number of ducts that lead to the main reproductive tract, the vas deferens or deferens duct. This, in turn opens into a small organ composed of two papillae at the back of the cloaca or vent.
The male bird will normally respond to the fact that the hen has started to release ripe yolk ova. This pre-supposes that he is old enough and is also at a fertile stage. If he has been given extra light a couple of weeks before the hens, as referred to earlier, this will normally be the case. It is important to ensure that he is fully grown before being given extra light; otherwise the effect is to produce a precocious bird before his bodily frame is ready to cope.
Copyright © Katie Thear 2005