Estrogenic Interruption of Broodiness in the Domestic Fowl

TO DATE, interruption of broodiness and initiation of early subsequent egg production has been most satisfactorily accomplished through management. The most common procedure has been to remove the broody hen from the nest and place her in a wire or slatted bottom coop provided with ample feed and water until the broody symptoms disappear. The period of confinement in the “broody coop” varies in practice from 3 to 6 days. I n routine management procedure, the hen is usually confined to the coop for 4 days, released on the morning of the fifth day and, if she returns to the nest, returned to the coop for another 4-day period (cf. Rice and Botsford, 1949). Interruption of broodiness accomplished by this management procedure is apparently psychological in its effect. The strangeness of location and the prevention of natural nesting probably affect a reduction of the hormonal secretion (prolactin) of the anterior . . .