Feamle Reproductive System Poultry

Virtual Chicken
The Female Reproductive Tract

Advanced Level
Funded by: USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant Agreement No. 2003-38411-13479
and
Poultry Products Safety & Quality (PPSQ) Program
Auburn University, Alabama
© 2006 The Virtual Chicken: The Female Reproductive Tract
Virtual Chicken
Role of the Avian

Female Reproductive
Tract
 Manufacture ova and egg components
• Ova
• Yolk
• Albumen
• Shell
 Site of fetilization
 Sperm is stored and transported within the
female tract Funded by: USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant Agreement No. 2003-38411-13479
and
Virtual Chicken
Ovary -- 2
functions
 Produce ova
• germinal disk - will
become the embryo
when fertilized
• Yolk-nutrition for the
growing embryo
 Endocrine function
• Estrogen, androgens,
and progesterone
Oviduct Funded by: USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant Agreement No. 2003-38411-13479
 Transport and
 Packaging Auburn University, Alabama
Virtual Chicken
Ovary Structure
 Outer cortex contain the

ovarian follicles
• >12000 follicles
– Oocytes
– Steroid producing
cell layers
» Granulosa
» Theca
 Inner Medulla
and
Virtual Chicken
Ovarian Follicle
and
Virtual Chicken
Time ova spends in each section
 Infundibulum
 ≤ 1 hour



Captures ova
Secretes outer membrane
First albumen
Oviduct
 Magnum


2 – 3 hours
Albumen
Fast Facts
 Avidin
 Ovalbumin
 Lysozyme
 Isthmus
 ± 1 hour
 Inner
 Outer Shell Membranes
 Shell gland
 20 – 26 hours
 Plumping
 Shell deposition
 Vagina
 Just a few minutes
 Sperm storage
 Cuticle
 Pigment
and
Virtual Chicken
Embryonic Origin of the

Ovary
 Before hatching, the embryo is in an “indifferent” stage
having the beginnings of both male and female
reproductive organs.
 Primordial germ cells (PGC’s) that will become eggs or
sperm have formed in the embryo before oviposition.
 PGC’s circulate in the blood
 Migrate into the mesoderm and colonize “gonadal ridge”
 96 hours into incubation: PGC’s migrate to left side if
the embryo is genetically female
 Eventually forms the ovary
and
Virtual Chicken
Development of the Ovary

 Cortex – outer cell layers of embryonic ovary
 PGCs
 Medulla-inner cell layers

 PCGs and connective tissue
 First sex specific differentiation is thickening of the cortex at 7 days of age

 Proliferation of PGCs
 Right ovary stops developing and degenerates

 Some medullary tissue may persist in right oviduct
 Can form ovotestis if the ovary ever becomes damaged
 Left ovary continues to develop
and
Virtual Chicken
Oviduct
 Embryo has both male (Wolfian) and female (Mullerian) reproductive duct system.
 Mullerian duct becomes the Oviduct
 Wolfian duct may persist as a vestigial structure
and
Virtual Chicken
and
Virtual Chicken
Yolk Formation and Maturation of the Ovum

 White yolk
 Core of the yolk
 Female pronucleus (female genetic material)
 Yellow yolk
 Deposited in layers on white yolk
 Yellow because of fat soluble pigments from feed
 Female pronucleus rises through yellow yolk on stalk
and
Virtual Chicken

 Rapid deposition of yellow yolk for 7-10 days prior to ovulation
 Yolk material is formed as droplets or spheres much like fat
droplets in milk.
 Yolk formation is estrogen dependent
 Yolk components formed in liver
 Particles of “Very Low Density Lipoproteins” (VLDL)
 12% protein
 88% lipid
and
Virtual Chicken
 Proteins
 Apo-B, Apo-VLDL-II
 Vitellogenin
 Phosvitin, Lipovitellin
 Plasma proteins
 Albumin
 IgG (antibodies to protect chick)
and
Virtual Chicken

 Lipids
 Triglycerides (70 – 75%)
 Can be somewhat
manipulated by changing
hen’s diet
 Mainly palmitic, oleic acids
 Phospholipids (20-25%)
 Cholesterol (only 4%!)
and
Virtual Chicken

 4 membranes enclose the
yolk (from inside to out)
 Vitelline membrane
 Perivitelline membrane
 Middle continuous layer
 Extravitelline layer
 Blastodisc
 Location of the embryo
 Floats on white yolk
and
Virtual Chicken
Follicular Hierarchy
 Follicles develop in an orderly
hierarchy
 Control of the order of follicle
development is not well understood
 Recruitment of follicles into the
hierarchy:
 May be adrenal regulated
 The Adrenal glands are essentially
embedded in ovary
 Nerve endings on thecal cells
 If nerves are cut: many follicles mature
at once
and
Virtual Chicken
Hormone production
by follicles
 Steroidogenesis: Controlled by pituitary hormones:
FSH and LH
 Estrogen and androgen
 Estrogen production dominates as the follicle
begins to accumulate yolk then declines as follicle
nears maturation
 Androgen and progesterone production maximum
about 3 days prior to ovulation
 Androgen production ends at just before ovulation
 Progesterone production continues after ovulation
and
Virtual Chicken
Endocrine Control of Development

 Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH)
 Granulosa cell differentiation
 Progesterone production
 Luteinizing hormone (LH)

 Androgens
 Estrogens
and
Virtual Chicken
Post Ovulatory Follicle

 In mammals, the parts of the follicle
remaining after ovulation become the “corpus
luteum” and continues to produce
progesterone to support pregnancy
 In birds, steroidogenic capacity is retained by
the postovulatory follicle for 24 hours
 Probably has no function since birds don’t get
pregnant
 Gone by 6 days
and
Virtual Chicken
Ovulatory Cycle
 Interval between consecutive ovulations
 Controlled by circadian rhythms
 Clock reset at dusk: open period for oviposition begins 15
hours after dusk
 Open period: Oviposition and ovulations occur during
an 8 hour period
 Ovulation 30 – 45 minutes after oviposition
 LH release controls ovulation
and
Virtual Chicken
Ovulation
 Structure of the follicle causes

expulsion of the ovum
 Stigma: avascular area

 Collagen structure weaker
 Proteolytic enzymes -digest
and weaken the membranes
 Myofibrils - contract and cause
the membranes to rupture
and
Virtual Chicken
Functions of the Egg
 Container
 Holds and protects the organic and
inorganic materials required to
produce the chick
 Controlled environment
 Controls entry of microorganisms,
gas exchange, moisture loss
and
Virtual Chicken
Egg Formation
 Starts in a hen’s ovary
 Ovum
 Ovum is surrounded by the vitelline membrane produced by the ovary
 Ovum stores nutrients as yolk granules for use by the embryo
 White yolk
 Most is located directly below the nucleus
 Yellow yolk
 Seven or eight day before the ovum is ovulated, yellow and white yolk are laid
down in layers
and
Virtual Chicken
Eggshell
 Multiple layers
 function together to
protect the embryo
 Provide the correct
environment for embryonic
development
 Inner shell membrane
 In contact with
albumen/chorioallantois
 Nonfibrous on surface facing
embryo
 Fibous on outer surface
and
Virtual Chicken
Eggshell Calcite crystals

 Capable of withstanding 100
psi internal pressure
 Mammillary layer Mammilary cores
 Palisade layer
 50% of the strength of the Outer shell
shell membrane
 Columns of calcium
carbonate (calcite)
 Organic matrix
 Surface crystal layer
 Pores
and
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Outer Shell Membrane
 Stacked on top of inner shell membrane,

except at air cell
 Mat of fibers, intermeshed with fibers of
inner membrane
 Mammillary cores
and
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Cuticle
 Protein
 Plugs pores
and
Virtual Chicken
Shell Formation
 Two Main components of egg shell mineral

 Calcium – from diet
 Carbonate – from respiration
and
Virtual Chicken
Source and Deposition of Calcium
 Eggshell takes more calcium than hen has in blood and is placed on
the shell faster than hen can absorb calcium from the gut
 Hen derives calcium for eggshell from diet and from stored sources
 Sort term calcium storage in crop
 Long term calcium storage in bone
 Medullary bone - rapidly mobilizable calcium source
and
Virtual Chicken

 Ionized (free) calcium is taken from blood, deposited on eggshell
 Blood calcium replaced by calcium released from medullary bone
 Shell gland maintains a supersaturated calcium solution so that calcium precipitates
out on sell membranes
 Complex endocrine mechanisms to control calcium utilization
 Dihydroxyvitamin D
 Parathyroid hormone
and
Virtual Chicken

 Carbonate derived from CO2 from cell respiration
 Carbonic anhydrase is the enzyme responsible (mostly in red blood cells)
 Water and CO2 form bicarbonate and free H+ ions
 Carbonate secreted in shell gland to form egg shell
 H+ ions diffuse back into blood and lower blood pH (blood becomes acidic)
 Increases respiration
 Blows off CO2 + H+ (blood becomes alkaline)
 Dietary and environmental conditions can alter this and cause problems with
eggshell formation.
 High temperatures
 High breathing rate (panting) to cool - blows off too much CO2
 Acidic diet or water
 Alkaline diet or water
 Metabolic Acidosis
and
Virtual Chicken
Egg Shell Quality
 Shell quality is associated with hatchability

  Shell quality  Hatchability
 Shell quality declines the longer a hen is in production

  Shell quality  Hatchability
 Season of the year, hen strain, environment temperature, nutrition

 Hot weather =  Shell quality
 Poor nutrition =  Shell quality
and
Virtual Chicken
Measuring Shell
Quality
 Appearance
 Rough Shell
 Misshapen
 Shell thickness
 Shell strength
 Shell porosity
and
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Interior Egg Quality

 Tremulous air cells
 Albumen quality
 Haugh units
 Albumen height corrected for egg size
 Higher Haugh unit = better hatchability
 Haugh units should be 80 or higher for good hatch
 Loss in albumen height due to loss of specific protein: ovomucin
and
Virtual Chicken
The End
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Virtual Chicken

The Female Reproductive Tract

Role of the Avian

 Outer cortex contain the

Embryonic Origin of the

Development of the Ovary

 Medulla-inner cell layers

 First sex specific differentiation is thickening of the cortex at 7 days of age

 Right ovary stops developing and degenerates

 Left ovary continues to develop

Yolk Formation and Maturation of the Ovum

Yolk Formation and Maturation of the Ovum

Yolk Formation and Maturation of the Ovum

Yolk Formation and Maturation of the Ovum

Yolk Formation and Maturation of the Ovum

Endocrine Control of Development

 Luteinizing hormone (LH)

Post Ovulatory Follicle

 Structure of the follicle causes

 Stigma: avascular area

Functions of the Egg

Eggshell Calcite crystals

Outer Shell Membrane

 Stacked on top of inner shell membrane,

 Two Main components of egg shell mineral

Source and Deposition of Calcium

Source and Deposition of Calcium

Source and Deposition of Calcium

Egg Shell Quality

 Shell quality is associated with hatchability

 Shell quality declines the longer a hen is in production

 Season of the year, hen strain, environment temperature, nutrition

Interior Egg Quality

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