?College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050016, China)Golden pheasant ( Chrysolophus pictus) is a monotypic and special species of China.In nature, it breeds once a year in spring summer.From Oct.1998 to Feb.1999, we studied the effects of photo periods on inducing the birds to reproduce in winter and succeeded.In the experiment, 36 adult females and 18 males were divided into three groups.Each group was divided into 6 replicates, each replicate included 2 females and 1 male, and fed in one cage.All the groups were exposed to short day (8L∶16D) for 8 weeks, and then transferred to long day (12L∶12D, 14L∶10D or 16L∶8D). In result, photoperiods significantly affected Golden pheasant reproductive performance in winter.Considered of all of the reproductive performance indicators, the reproductive performance of the group exposure to 14L∶10D was the best, the 16L∶8D group’s was less and the 12L∶12D group’s was the worst.It may be that the birds’ CDL (critical day length) for inducing egg production was about 12 h, and the CDL for optimal egg production was 14L∶10D in winter. The birds exposed to 12L∶12D had no fertilized egg.The other groups had fertilized eggs and the fertility was 15 05% (14L∶10D) and 20 41% (16L∶8D).The hatchability of fertilized egg were 76 47% (14L∶10D) and 80 00% (16L∶8D). The egg laying pattern was affected by the size of photoperiod.The ratio of lay of the birds exposed to 14L∶10D, increased rapidly and sustained in a peak level for 5 weeks, and then fall down.But the other birds (group A and C) increased to the peak at the first week and then fall down quickly.
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