Blood Volume of Geese Treated With Androgen and Estrogen ,

INTRODUCTION PREVIOUS reports have shown that packed cell volume (PCV) values for male Pilgrim geese remained fairly constant during sexual development and the initial reproductive period, but declined toward the end of the reproductive period. In contrast, values for female geese varied inversely with rate of egg production (Hunsaker et al., 1964; Hunt and Hunsaker, 1965). Although data are limited, the pattern of change in erythrocyte volume (EV) and plasma volume (PV) in chickens during sexual development and reproduction (Newell and Shaffner, 1950; Medway and Kare, 1959) appears to be different from that observed in geese. Since treatment with androgen or estrogen is known to affect EV and PV in chickens (Taber et al., 1943; Domm and Taber, 1946; Common et al., 1948; Campbell, 1959; Gilbert, 1963) the response to similar treatment in geese might contribute to an understanding of these apparent species differences. The objective of this experiment, therefore, . . .