Effect of dietary aflatoxin on reproductive performance of mature White Leghorn males

Aflatoxin (20 microgram/g) diet) added to the feed of mature White Leghorn males for five weeks resulted in decreased semen volumes and testes weights and a disruption of the germinal epithelium, but there was no effect on percent fertile eggs or percent hatch of fertile eggs from hens artificially inseminated with spermatozoa from treated males.A significant decrease in feed consumption and body weight preceded the decline in semen volume. White Leghorn males appear to be more susceptible to aflatoxin than broiler breeder males.