Effect of a single injection of adrenaline on shell ultrastructure in a series of eggs from domestic hens.
1. Adrenaline (1 mg in 1 ml water) was administered subcutaneously to three hens to determine whether any changes in the shell ultrastructure of subsequent eggs would occur. 2. The egg shells were examined in a scanning electron microscope after plasma etching. 3. The first three eggs laid by each bird after adrenaline injection were compared with previously-collected normal eggs from the same birds and also with control eggs collected over the same period from three hens which had received no adrenaline. 4. The first egg laid following adrenaline treatment was essentially normal but both the second and third eggs showed severe structural disorganisation at all levels, from the mamillary caps up to the cuticular layer. 5. Eggs laid 20 d or more after adrenaline treatment had reverted to normal. 6. The findings suggest that the abnormal eggs laid after hens have been exposed to disturbance or stress are likely to be affected in not only their external appearance but also to be of poor structural quality.
Solomon
S E
SE
University of Glasgow School of Veterinary Medicine, Bearsden.
Hughes
B O
BO
Gilbert
A B
AB
D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000502:physiology*; D004528:Egg Shell / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004837:Epinephrine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D007279:Injections, Subcutaneous; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
D004837:Epinephrine