Effects of vitamin A deficiency on the reproductive system of mature White Leghorn hens.

Two groups of 100 white leghorn hens were fed rations either supplemented or deficient in vitamin A for 32 weeks. At the conclusion of the study, vitamin A-supplemented hens laying normally were also compared with a group of vitamin A-supplemented hens in a state of low egg production. Mean egg retinol equivalents (microgram retinol/g egg yolk), egg production, and hatchability in the vitamin A-deficient group were decreased significantly by 4, 20, and 28 weeks, respectively, after beginning treatment. The ovaries of vitamin A-deficient chickens had increased numbers of atretic follicles compared with the ovaries of vitamin A-supplemented hens (20, 24, 28, and 32 weeks), and these atretic follicles contained moderate to severe hemorrhage. Hemorrhage was located either uniformly throughout the follicle or more commonly between the detached granulosa cell layer and the theca interna. Hemorrhagic follicles were uncommon in both vitamin A-supplemented hens and low-production vitamin A-supplemented hens.