EMPTYING OF THE UTEROVAGINAL SPERM STORAGE GLANDS IN THE ABSENCE OF OVULATION AND OVIPOSITION IN THE DOMESTIC HEN

Domestic hens were treated with pregnant mare serum to study the temporal pattern of sperm gland emptying in the absence of ovulation and oviposition. After a cessation of ovulation and oviposition, the hens were artificially inseminated with .034 ml of pooled semen. Subsequent histological examination of the uterovaginal sperm glands on days 1, 6, and 12 post-insemination indicated that the temporal rate of sperm-gland emptying was not significantly different from that of control birds which were laying normally. This observation suggests that ovulation and oviposition, along with their assoicated humoral factors, have a minimal effect on the emptying of the uterovaginal sperm storage glands.