The Survival of the Spermatozoon in the Domesticated Fowl

Abstract
1. Fertility in the hen persists after removal of the cock for about 15 days. Normal spermatozoa are not found in the oviduct throughout this period. 2. Confirming Ivanoff we have shown that fertility persists after irrigation of the peritoneal cavity and oviduct with spermicidal solution. 3. Survival of fertility after treatment persists as long as in the unoperated bird, but the number of fertile eggs laid is reduced by degeneration of the ova. 4. These results conform to Ivanoff's hypothesis that spermatozoa may penetrate the immature ova previous to ovulation, but reasons are advanced for regarding this assumption as unwarranted without further evidence.