Gossypol, a natural component of cottonseed meal, exists in positive (+) or negative (-) enantiomeric forms, and their levels and ratio could be altered by developing new genetic strains of cotton. Two experiments were conducted to determine the relative toxicity of the individual gossypol enantiomers in laying and broiler breeder hens. In the first experiment, 25 individually caged Hy-Line W-36 forty-three-week-old laying hens were fed a standard corn-soy diet supplemented with either no gossypol or the individual enantiomers at 200 and 400 mg/kg of diet for 20 d (5 hens/treatment). In the second experiment, 15 individually caged Cobb 500 fast-feathering 44-wk-old broiler breeder hens were fed a standard corn-soy-wheat middlings diet supplemented with either no gossypol or the individual enantiomers at 400 mg/kg of diet for 18 d (5 hens/treatment). In both experiments, feed intake, egg production, and egg weight were determined daily. All eggs were individually opened and scored for yolk discoloration. At the end of both experiments, several organ and tissue samples were collected for gossypol analyses. In both experiments, the addition of (+)-gossypol to the diet reduced egg production. Only laying and broiler breeder hens fed (+)-gossypol produced eggs with severe yolk discoloration (score > or = 4). Total feed intake was lower (P < 0.05) in laying hens fed the 400 mg/kg level of (+)-gossypol compared with laying hens fed the other dietary treatments. In contrast, broiler breeder hens consumed less of the diet supplemented with (-)-gossypol. In both experiments, tissue accumulation of (+)-gossypol was higher than (-)-gossypol, with the exception of bile and excreta. The results suggest that in hens the ingestion of (+)-gossypol has a greater effect on egg yolk discoloration than the consumption of (-)-gossypol.