Abstract
To elucidate the relationship between the fertility of hens and the sperm-agglutinating antibodies in their serum, the fertility of eggs taken from the hens immunized with semen only and with semen-adjuvant emulsion and from the control hens was compared.
1. No significant effects of the immunization were observed on the fertility for 2 to 7 days following single insemination. A slight decrease in fertility was observed for 8 to 14 days in the hens intraveanously immunized, which possessed the highest antibodies titer.
2. The following regressive formulas exsisted between the antibodies titer (X) in the serum and the fertility of eggs laid in 2 to 7 days (Y1) or in 8 to 14 days following single insemination (Y2). Y1=-4.00X+86.29, Y2=-6.93X+59.63.
3. No different fertility was observed between the hens passively immunized with heteroimmune cock sperm-agglutinating antibodies and the control hens
A slight deteriorative effects on the fertility due to the active immunization of semen was observed from the above data, but not statistically significant enough to attribute the low fertility in the hens following successive inseminations as seen in the practical field to the immunization of semen via uterus.
