CHAPTER XVII 



Diseases of the Reproductive Organs 



The direct economic importance of poultry lies in the 

 production of two things, viz., meat and eggs. For the 

 production of the latter the poultryman is dependent upon 

 the activity of the reproductive system of the hen. Under 

 natural conditions in the wild state, the progenitors of the 

 domestic fowl laid relatively few eggs. Judging by other 

 species of wild birds of the present day, however, it is highly 

 probable that the wild progenitors of poultry possessed the 

 potential ability to lay much more than the usual number 

 of eggs provided they were removed from the nest as fast as 

 laid. Under domestication this practice of removing the 

 eggs as fast as laid, together with the feeding of rich foods, 

 and still other factors, lays heavy demands upon the repro- 

 ductive system. It is not remarkable that an organ system 

 which under conditions of nature produced from 12 to 

 perhaps 30 units per annum, frequently breaks down under 

 the strain of producing from 100 to 250 per annum of the 

 same kind of units. It could only be expected that, as is 

 actually the case, the egg producing organs would be partic- 

 ularly liable to disease. 



ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY 



In order that the discussion of the diseases of the reproduc- 

 tive organs may be intelligible it is desirable to preface it 

 with a brief account of the anatomy and physiology of the 

 245 



