THE ESTRONE CONTENT OF HEN'S URINE

Abstract

Brown's method for the determination of estrogens in human urine has been studied as regards applicability to hen's urine. The specificity of the method was satisfactory for the estrone fraction but was not satisfactory for the estradiol and estriol fractions.The values for urinary estrone (uncorrected for methodological losses) for nonlaying hens lay within the range 0.7 to 1.2 micrograms per day. The level rose over a period of about 2 weeks before laying began and attained peak values 3 to 5 days before oviposition of the first egg. Thereafter, the level fell slightly and lay within the range 2.2 to 5.0 micrograms per day during the laying period. Two birds that stopped laying displayed a sharp drop to nonlaying levels about the time the last egg was laid.