Some Factors that Affect Oviposition in the Domestic Fowl

Abstract OVIPOSITION takes place with regularity in the fowl. The time of oviposition depends on the number of eggs in a clutch (eggs laid on consecutive days). In eggs laid in a large clutch, say 10 eggs or more, oviposition in the first part of the clutch takes place each morning at 8.00 or 9.00, at definite 24 to 25-hour intervals between eggs. During the latter part of the clutch the interval between eggs lengthens until the last egg of a clutch is laid in the afternoon. Eggs laid in a small clutch of 2 or 3 may require as much as 30 hours between eggs. Oviposition and ovulation show a time relationship. Warren and Scott (1936) found that oviposition of an egg occurred 15 to 45 minutes before ovulation of the next egg if another egg was to be laid in the clutch. They found also that it was not . . .