Ovulation and Longevity in the Japanese Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) Under Constant Illumination

INTRODUCTION IN 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 . . .