Prevalence and pathology of oviduct impaction in commercial white leghorn layer chicken in Namakkal region of India

The female reproductive tract is commonly referred to as oviduct in birds. The oviduct is a highly convoluted muscular duct, concerned with the transport of the ovum away from the ovary, with fertilization of the ovum and by the deposition of albumen, membranes and shell on to the ovum to form the finished egg [1]. Reproductive diseases in poultry causes high morbidity (35%), mortality (15%) and drop in egg production (40%) [2].The function of the oviduct could be influenced by a number of disease processes either directly by virtue of the fact that they alter the ability of the lining cells of oviduct to synthesize their integral components or indirectly by generally compromising bird's health. Although it is well known that reproductive disease of poultry results in decreased egg production and increased mortality, avian reproductive pathology is treated rather briefly in literature [3]. The modern strains of commercial layer chicken with their genetic potential to lay more number of eggs during laying period make them susceptible to different types of reproductive tract disorders [4]. Prevalence of different reproductive tract abnormalities in commercial layer chicken was reported as 26.10% [2]. Oviductal derangements such as atrophic oviduct [5], cystic oviduct [4] and persistent right oviduct [6] are reported in commercial layer chicken and cause reduction in egg production and increased Veterinary World, EISSN: 2231-0916 Available at www.veterinaryworld.org/Vol.7/August-2014/2.pdf