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Ovulation and Longevity in the Japanese Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) Under Constant Illumination
S. TYPHIMURIUM AND E. COLI IN LESSER MEALWORM
1875
Harding, W. C. Jr., and T. L. Bissell, 1958. Lesser
REFERENCES Cotton, R. T., 1956. Pests of stored-grain and Grain Products. Burgess Publishing Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 59. Eidson, C. S., S. C. Schmittle, R. B. Goode and J. B. Lai, 1966 Induction of leukosis tumors with the beetle Alphitobius diaperinus. Amer. J. Vet. Res. 27: 1053-1057. Gould, G. E., and H. E. Moses, 1951. Lesser mealworm infestation in a brooder house. J. Econ. Entomol. 44: 265
mealworms in a brooder house. J. Econ. Entolmol. 51: 112. Harris, F., 1966. Observations on the lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus (Panz.). J. Georgia Entomol. Soc. 1: 17-18. Lancaster, J. L. Jr., and J. S. Simco, 1967. Biology of the lesser mealworm, a suspected reservoir of avian leucosis. Arkansas Agr. Exp. Sta. Rep. Ser. 159. 12 pp.
G. L.
Science Department,
DANIELS
Montclair State College, Upper Montclair, New Jersey 07043 (Received for publication April 5, 1968)
INTRODUCTION
I
N THE Summer of 1963, the writer, as a participant in an NSF sponsored Summer Institute on Animal Behavior at the Pennsylvania State University, became interested in the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Through the courtesy of the directors of the NSF Institute, Drs. M. W. Schein and E. B. Hale, a small flock of Coturnix quail was obtained. The observations and measurements described below were made on this population of Coturnix quail over a period of 55 months. MATERIALS AND
METHODS
All birds in the experimental population came from a single hatch in a commercial incubator of the Poultry Department of the Pennsylvania State University. They were kept for four weeks, from July 17 till August 17, 1963, in the hatchery under conditions of constant illumination and temperature, and food and water ad libitum. These four week old birds, nine females and five males, were taken to the writer's home in Northern New Jersey and kept there out-
doors for three weeks. For the remainder of the observation period, they were kept indoors at Montclair State College, New Jersey, in a half-inch wire-mesh cage measuring 90 X 60 X 30 centimeters (about one half square meter). The relative crowding, equivalent to 28 birds per square meter, presumably had no influence on later ovulations since Ernst and Coleman (1966) report that much greater crowding (43 or more birds/m.2) in their Coturnix experiments had no modifying effect on either ovulation or fertility. Twenty-four hour illumination was provided by means of fluorescent lights mounted two meters above the cage, and no effort was made to exclude incident daylight through a large, West-facing window a short distance from the pen. Room temperature fluctuated between 12°C. and 25°C. When room temperatures dropped below 18°C, a warming hood was placed over part of the pen. Food consisted of commercial, medicated "turkey starter" crumbles containing 27% or more protein and 3 % or more crude fat. Calcite chips
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at West Virginia University on June 28, 2015
Ovulation and Longevity in the Japanese Quail {Coturnix coturnix japonica) Under Constant Illumination
1876
G. L. DANIELS
were added to the feed, and both water and food were constantly available to the birds. Occasionally, at irregular intervals, fresh food, such as lettuce, cabbage leaves or apples were added to the diet.
eighteenth month, and finally another steep decline to anovulation in the twenty-fourth month. Mean ovulations during the first twelve months amounted to 274 eggs per hen per year.
OBSERVATIONS ON OVULATION
DISCUSSION The mean annual ovulation figure, discounting the special experimental conditions, is substantially higher than the 210.80 ± 7.47 eggs per hen per year mentioned by Pilla (1962), but not as high as "more than 300 eggs per year," mentioned by Wilson (1966). The present findings agree with Howes' (1964) observations that Coturnix coturnix japonica continue to lay when the day-length is kept constant. In the same paper Howes mentions that in his flock ovulation stopped in September when daylight was decreased. With constant 24 hour illumination in the present population, seasonal changes in ovulation were absent although it might be noted
Egg laying began on September 21, 1963, at age 66 days. By September 24, 1963, the majority of hens were laying with a yield of five eggs for nine hens on that day, and a few days later peak production of about seven eggs per nine hens per day was reached. Figure 1 shows the average egg yield per hen per day for the 24 months period following the onset of ovulation. The data in Figure 1 indicate a high rate of ovulation with a mean value of slightly over .75 eggs per hen per day for the first twelve months, followed by a precipitous decline leading to a brief plateau of around .24 eggs per hen per day at the
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at West Virginia University on June 28, 2015
FIG. 1. Ovulations.
1877
OVULATION AND LONGEVITY IN QUAIL
* All birds A Males (deaths) e Females (deaths)
•
^\B
^X^ \p
\
5-
S 3
1^ o
joo
6bo
900
1260
1560
f
J
1800
Number of Days to Death FIG. 2. Longevity.
that at the end of 24 months ovulation came to a final stop also in September (see Figure 1). Some deaths occurred among the hens during the first two years for which egg production was given. All calculations given were adjusted to the actual number of hens in any given month. OBSERVATIONS ON LONGEVITY
The flock was maintained after cessation of ovulation under the same conditions as before. Deaths continued intermittently and the last quail, a male, died on March 8, 1968, when four years and seven months old. Records were kept as to age and sex as individuals died. While female mammals are generally considered the biologically stronger sex with usually greater longevity, the experimental population described here shows the
opposite trend (see Figure 2). The mean life span of hens was 819.2 days, with a median of 849.0 days, while the mean life span of males was 1157.8 with a median at 1406.0 days. DISCUSSION OF SEX DIFFERENCES IN AGING AND LONGEVITY
The rather large number of ovulations per hen, partially caused by the 24 hour illumination, and the absence of anovulatory periods of incubating and raising of chicks, may have accounted for a greater physiological, metabolic drain on the hens which not only accounted for the shorter life span but other signs of declining hormone metabolism and accelerated aging as well. Among observations which seem to support the assumption that physiological strain caused both faster aging and earlier death were the depigmentation of the cheek
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at West Virginia University on June 28, 2015
15 14 13 12 1110 98 7 6>
1878
G. L. DANIELS SUMMARY
In a flock of Coturnix quail which were kept under 24 hour illumination egg production was very large during the first year and came to a halt at the end of the second year. During the almost five years that the flock was kept, mortality and symptoms of aging were more accelerated in females as compared to males.
REFERENCES Ernst, R. A., and T. H. Coleman, 1966. The influence of floor space on growth, egg production, fertility, and hatchability of the Coturnix coturnix japonica. Poultry Sci. 45 : 437-440. Howes, J. R., 1964. Environmental factors affecting ovulation in the Coturnix quail. J. Alabama Acad. Sci. 35: 20-21. Pilla, A. M., 1962. Alcune osservazioni sulla deposizio de di uova nella quaglia giapponese. Ricerche Zool. Appl. caccia 36: 3-14. Wilson, W. O., 1966. Poultry production. Scientific American, 215: 56-64.
A Comparison of Phosphorus Assay Techniques with Chicks 3. DEVELOPMENT OF A CALCIUM STANDARD CURVE FOR SOFT PHOSPHATE, DEFLUORINATED PHOSPHATE, AND CALCIUM PHOSPHATE'-3 B. L. DAMRON AND R. H. HARMS Florida Agricultural Experiment Stations, Gainesville, Florida 32601 (Received for publication April 5
W
ALDROUP et al. (1965) estimated that 51 to 59 percent of the phosphorus in soft phosphate was available to the chick and found that this value was influenced by the calcium content of the 1
Florida Agricultural Experiment Stations Journal Series No. 2965. 2 This calcium phosphate marketed as "Dikal 21" by Borden Chemical Company, Smith Douglass Division, Norfolk, Virginia.
1%8)
assay diet. It was also suggested that specific calcium levels should be used with the different sub-optimum phosphorus levels of assay diets. This was desirable in order to elicit maximum response of the chick and allow full utilization of a particular phosphorus source. Since it is reasonable to assume that the most valid biological value will be obtained if the chick is able to maximally utilize the phosphorus in the diet, a
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at West Virginia University on June 28, 2015
feathers which turned almost white when the females were two years old. Males even when twice as old showed no such depigmentation. Another sex difference in advancing age was the degenerative musclejoint changes. Some females that were older than one year often limped and showed progressive "arthritic" loss of agility for weeks and even months before death. Few such observations were made on aging males except in the case of the longest lived male who reached the age of four years and seven months at the time of death. In general, the very old males rather gave the appearance of fatigue and listlessness, but they did not limp and could be quite agile when aroused. Similar evidence of slower aging in the males seemed to be manifested by long persisting sexual behavior in the males long after the females had stopped ovulating. The last egg was laid when the birds were 793 days old, crowing and attempts at copulation were observed among males till they were 134S days old.
1875
Harding, W. C. Jr., and T. L. Bissell, 1958. Lesser
REFERENCES Cotton, R. T., 1956. Pests of stored-grain and Grain Products. Burgess Publishing Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 59. Eidson, C. S., S. C. Schmittle, R. B. Goode and J. B. Lai, 1966 Induction of leukosis tumors with the beetle Alphitobius diaperinus. Amer. J. Vet. Res. 27: 1053-1057. Gould, G. E., and H. E. Moses, 1951. Lesser mealworm infestation in a brooder house. J. Econ. Entomol. 44: 265
mealworms in a brooder house. J. Econ. Entolmol. 51: 112. Harris, F., 1966. Observations on the lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus (Panz.). J. Georgia Entomol. Soc. 1: 17-18. Lancaster, J. L. Jr., and J. S. Simco, 1967. Biology of the lesser mealworm, a suspected reservoir of avian leucosis. Arkansas Agr. Exp. Sta. Rep. Ser. 159. 12 pp.
G. L.
Science Department,
DANIELS
Montclair State College, Upper Montclair, New Jersey 07043 (Received for publication April 5, 1968)
INTRODUCTION
I
N THE Summer of 1963, the writer, as a participant in an NSF sponsored Summer Institute on Animal Behavior at the Pennsylvania State University, became interested in the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Through the courtesy of the directors of the NSF Institute, Drs. M. W. Schein and E. B. Hale, a small flock of Coturnix quail was obtained. The observations and measurements described below were made on this population of Coturnix quail over a period of 55 months. MATERIALS AND
METHODS
All birds in the experimental population came from a single hatch in a commercial incubator of the Poultry Department of the Pennsylvania State University. They were kept for four weeks, from July 17 till August 17, 1963, in the hatchery under conditions of constant illumination and temperature, and food and water ad libitum. These four week old birds, nine females and five males, were taken to the writer's home in Northern New Jersey and kept there out-
doors for three weeks. For the remainder of the observation period, they were kept indoors at Montclair State College, New Jersey, in a half-inch wire-mesh cage measuring 90 X 60 X 30 centimeters (about one half square meter). The relative crowding, equivalent to 28 birds per square meter, presumably had no influence on later ovulations since Ernst and Coleman (1966) report that much greater crowding (43 or more birds/m.2) in their Coturnix experiments had no modifying effect on either ovulation or fertility. Twenty-four hour illumination was provided by means of fluorescent lights mounted two meters above the cage, and no effort was made to exclude incident daylight through a large, West-facing window a short distance from the pen. Room temperature fluctuated between 12°C. and 25°C. When room temperatures dropped below 18°C, a warming hood was placed over part of the pen. Food consisted of commercial, medicated "turkey starter" crumbles containing 27% or more protein and 3 % or more crude fat. Calcite chips
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at West Virginia University on June 28, 2015
Ovulation and Longevity in the Japanese Quail {Coturnix coturnix japonica) Under Constant Illumination
1876
G. L. DANIELS
were added to the feed, and both water and food were constantly available to the birds. Occasionally, at irregular intervals, fresh food, such as lettuce, cabbage leaves or apples were added to the diet.
eighteenth month, and finally another steep decline to anovulation in the twenty-fourth month. Mean ovulations during the first twelve months amounted to 274 eggs per hen per year.
OBSERVATIONS ON OVULATION
DISCUSSION The mean annual ovulation figure, discounting the special experimental conditions, is substantially higher than the 210.80 ± 7.47 eggs per hen per year mentioned by Pilla (1962), but not as high as "more than 300 eggs per year," mentioned by Wilson (1966). The present findings agree with Howes' (1964) observations that Coturnix coturnix japonica continue to lay when the day-length is kept constant. In the same paper Howes mentions that in his flock ovulation stopped in September when daylight was decreased. With constant 24 hour illumination in the present population, seasonal changes in ovulation were absent although it might be noted
Egg laying began on September 21, 1963, at age 66 days. By September 24, 1963, the majority of hens were laying with a yield of five eggs for nine hens on that day, and a few days later peak production of about seven eggs per nine hens per day was reached. Figure 1 shows the average egg yield per hen per day for the 24 months period following the onset of ovulation. The data in Figure 1 indicate a high rate of ovulation with a mean value of slightly over .75 eggs per hen per day for the first twelve months, followed by a precipitous decline leading to a brief plateau of around .24 eggs per hen per day at the
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at West Virginia University on June 28, 2015
FIG. 1. Ovulations.
1877
OVULATION AND LONGEVITY IN QUAIL
* All birds A Males (deaths) e Females (deaths)
•
^\B
^X^ \p
\
5-
S 3
1^ o
joo
6bo
900
1260
1560
f
J
1800
Number of Days to Death FIG. 2. Longevity.
that at the end of 24 months ovulation came to a final stop also in September (see Figure 1). Some deaths occurred among the hens during the first two years for which egg production was given. All calculations given were adjusted to the actual number of hens in any given month. OBSERVATIONS ON LONGEVITY
The flock was maintained after cessation of ovulation under the same conditions as before. Deaths continued intermittently and the last quail, a male, died on March 8, 1968, when four years and seven months old. Records were kept as to age and sex as individuals died. While female mammals are generally considered the biologically stronger sex with usually greater longevity, the experimental population described here shows the
opposite trend (see Figure 2). The mean life span of hens was 819.2 days, with a median of 849.0 days, while the mean life span of males was 1157.8 with a median at 1406.0 days. DISCUSSION OF SEX DIFFERENCES IN AGING AND LONGEVITY
The rather large number of ovulations per hen, partially caused by the 24 hour illumination, and the absence of anovulatory periods of incubating and raising of chicks, may have accounted for a greater physiological, metabolic drain on the hens which not only accounted for the shorter life span but other signs of declining hormone metabolism and accelerated aging as well. Among observations which seem to support the assumption that physiological strain caused both faster aging and earlier death were the depigmentation of the cheek
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at West Virginia University on June 28, 2015
15 14 13 12 1110 98 7 6>
1878
G. L. DANIELS SUMMARY
In a flock of Coturnix quail which were kept under 24 hour illumination egg production was very large during the first year and came to a halt at the end of the second year. During the almost five years that the flock was kept, mortality and symptoms of aging were more accelerated in females as compared to males.
REFERENCES Ernst, R. A., and T. H. Coleman, 1966. The influence of floor space on growth, egg production, fertility, and hatchability of the Coturnix coturnix japonica. Poultry Sci. 45 : 437-440. Howes, J. R., 1964. Environmental factors affecting ovulation in the Coturnix quail. J. Alabama Acad. Sci. 35: 20-21. Pilla, A. M., 1962. Alcune osservazioni sulla deposizio de di uova nella quaglia giapponese. Ricerche Zool. Appl. caccia 36: 3-14. Wilson, W. O., 1966. Poultry production. Scientific American, 215: 56-64.
A Comparison of Phosphorus Assay Techniques with Chicks 3. DEVELOPMENT OF A CALCIUM STANDARD CURVE FOR SOFT PHOSPHATE, DEFLUORINATED PHOSPHATE, AND CALCIUM PHOSPHATE'-3 B. L. DAMRON AND R. H. HARMS Florida Agricultural Experiment Stations, Gainesville, Florida 32601 (Received for publication April 5
W
ALDROUP et al. (1965) estimated that 51 to 59 percent of the phosphorus in soft phosphate was available to the chick and found that this value was influenced by the calcium content of the 1
Florida Agricultural Experiment Stations Journal Series No. 2965. 2 This calcium phosphate marketed as "Dikal 21" by Borden Chemical Company, Smith Douglass Division, Norfolk, Virginia.
1%8)
assay diet. It was also suggested that specific calcium levels should be used with the different sub-optimum phosphorus levels of assay diets. This was desirable in order to elicit maximum response of the chick and allow full utilization of a particular phosphorus source. Since it is reasonable to assume that the most valid biological value will be obtained if the chick is able to maximally utilize the phosphorus in the diet, a
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at West Virginia University on June 28, 2015
feathers which turned almost white when the females were two years old. Males even when twice as old showed no such depigmentation. Another sex difference in advancing age was the degenerative musclejoint changes. Some females that were older than one year often limped and showed progressive "arthritic" loss of agility for weeks and even months before death. Few such observations were made on aging males except in the case of the longest lived male who reached the age of four years and seven months at the time of death. In general, the very old males rather gave the appearance of fatigue and listlessness, but they did not limp and could be quite agile when aroused. Similar evidence of slower aging in the males seemed to be manifested by long persisting sexual behavior in the males long after the females had stopped ovulating. The last egg was laid when the birds were 793 days old, crowing and attempts at copulation were observed among males till they were 134S days old.