Abstract
This study examined whether administration of ethynylestradiol to laying quail affects male reproductive function in the F1 generation. Regularly laying Japanese quail were daily-injected with 50 μl of corn oil or 1 μg of ethynylestradiol dissolved in 50 μl of corn oil for 5 days. Fertilized eggs were then collected 2, 4 and 6 d after the first injection (groups C1, C3 and C5 for oil treatment ; E1, E3 and E5 for ethynylestradiol treatment). The chicks that hatched from these eggs were raised and their reproductive functions (age at sexual maturity, copulation frequency, testicular weight, semen or sperm quality and fertility) were examined. Reproductive function did not differ significantly between ethynylestradiol-treated groups and corresponding controls (C1 to E1, C3 to E3, C5 to E5) and a among treatment days within control or treatment (C1—C5 or E1—E5). These results suggest that injection of ethynylestradiol in laying birds under the conditions used in this study does not significantly disrupt male reproductive function in the F1 generation.
