Growth and Reproduction of Depancreatized Chickens

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Abstract
Depancreatized chickens quickly cease to lay eggs; but they will resume laying when 20% raw beef pancreas is included in the feed. When egg production ceases in depancreatized chickens it is accompanied by atrophy of the ovary and oviduct. This process is reversed by the inclusion of raw pancreas in the feed. While the ovary and oviduct atrophy, the adrenal and thyroid appear normal, paralleling the results obtained when the pituitary stalk is sectioned. The cessation of egg production is probably caused by an impairment in the release of gonadotrophic hormones as a result of undernutrition. Replacement therapy with gonadotrophic hormones [pregnant mare's serum (PMS)] stimulated the growth of the ovary and oviduct but did not restore egg production. This failure may have been due to the use of mammalian hormones, or to failure to use LH or HCG (which may be required) as well. Following pancreatectomy, comb growth in male chickens was initially retarded; however, 7 months after the operation, the area of the comb of depancreatized chickens was essentially equivalent to that of intact birds. Male chickens failed to produce semen after pancreatectomy; the production of semen and of viable sperm resumed when these animals were fed raw pancreas. (Endocrinology74: 207, 1964)

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