Advanced gonadal development in male turkeys following knife cuts directed to the hypothalamus

Turkey poults when 4 weeks of age received parasagittal knife cuts of the total hypothalamic area. Each of the two knife cuts was 1.2 mm lateral from midline and extended from the preoptic area to the mamillary hypothalamic region. Five experimentals survived only 3 to 5 days following surgery as none was able to eat or drink. Three experimentals showed prematurely developed wattles and caruncles about the neck, larger testes, and more advanced stages of spermatozoan development and tubule growth compared to sham-operated controls. When male poults were placed in a floor pen two of the three experimentals displayed mating behavior by strutting. No strutting was observed in controls. Similar to the chicken, male poults receiving parasagittal knife cuts throughout the anterior-posterior extent of the hypothalamus and thalamus showed advanced gonadal development.