Relation of Time of Day of Artificial Insemination to Fertility and Hatchability of Hens’ Eggs

SINCE artificial insemination, as a method of fertilizing hens’ eggs, is being used by many research workers and some poultry breeders, the relation of time of day of insemination to fertility and hatchability of eggs should be of interest. Moore and Byerly (1942) showed that the percentage of fertile eggs laid when hens were inseminated while a hard-shell egg was in the uterus was lower than when inseminations were accomplished with hens that had just laid or with hens that had no egg in the oviduct. Results of their studies suggest that for highest fertility, hens should not be inseminated in the early part of the day, since at that time a large percentage of them would have a hard-shell egg in the oviduct. Gracewski and Scott (1943) observed that under natural mating conditions fertility was increased when males were permitted to run in the breeding pen only during the . . .