BIRNNIAf. RKPORT, 1927 AND 19'28 337 



also bred as such. There have been ni) important advantages observed to 

 come from inbreeding and undesirable results are common. Results will 

 be published in the near future. 



Hereditary and Environmental Factors Affecting Variability in Egg 

 •Production. ( F. A. Hays). This experiment was begun in tiie spring of 

 I!)28. Three pen inatings were made using birds that were distinctive 

 regarding variability in egg production. The first pen consisted of ten 

 yearling hens mated to a yearling male. This pen was made up of 

 families of sisters that were especially uniform in the five important 

 characters affecting annual production mated to a male from a similar 

 fafuily. The second pen contained ten yearling hens selected for uniform 

 egg production only and they were mated to a male of their own age 

 from a similar family. The third pen of ten yearlings was selected for 

 higii annual egg production alone and they were mated to a male from 

 high producing ancestry. 



The parent stock, 16-5 pullets and several cockerels are now available 

 for study. 



Factors Governing Egg Weight and Shell Character in Domestic Fowl. 



(F. A. Hays). Preliminary studies on ^s^% weight began in the spring 

 of 1925, when all eggs laid by the breeding females between February 22 

 and March 3 were weighed and described. The same procedure has been 

 practiced each season to date. In the fall of 1927 each egg was weighed 

 as taken from the trapnests for the entire flock of 7-50 pullets housed. 

 The records began witii the first egg of each individual and continued until 

 January first. 



The present project was formulated in the fall of 1927 and became 

 active in 1928. Three pens of ten pullets each were selected on the egg 

 weight basis and mated to three full brothers in 1928. The first pen laid 

 eggs averaging 52 grams in December, the second pen laid eggs averaging 

 57 grams in December and the eggs of the third pen averaged 59 grams 

 in December. All eggs incubated were weighed and described. A total of 120 

 pullets from these pens have been retained for study and cockerels are 

 available for further breeding operations. 



Relation of Intensity or Rate of Laying to Feather Pigmentation. (F. A. 



Hays). This project began in the fall of 1927 when 50 extremely light- 

 colored and 50 very dark-colored pullets were selected to study possible 

 relations between shade of color in Rhode Island Reds and intensity of 

 laying. No very significant relations have appeared in these groups to 

 date. 



For the matings of 1928 two pens of ten pullets each were used. These 

 pens were made up of pullets from the above two groups, the dark pen 

 mated to an extremely dark male, the light pen to an extremely light- 

 colored male. From these matings 59 pullets and several cockerels are 

 available for breeding tests. 



Studies of egg weight records indicate that egg weight depends upon 

 two genes in its inheritance. Results of these studies will appear as a 

 technical paper in the Journal of Agricultural Research. 



