282 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 258 



Table 16. — Character of Female Breeders — 1927 



C 1124 

 F 1589 

 F2147 

 G 372 

 G 373 

 G 764 

 G 766 

 G 768 

 G 1241 

 G 1242 



176 

 189 

 245 

 189 

 331 

 217 

 216 

 206 

 184 

 184 



Inbred Pen 1 — Crossed 



Inbred Pen 2 — Crossed 



4.81 

 5.30 

 6.60 

 6.08 



5.40 

 5.80 

 6.45 

 5.57 

 4.67 



22 

 22 

 23 

 53 







5 



46 



9 



58 



4.3 

 1.8 

 1.6 

 1.6 



2.0 

 1.9 

 1.4 

 2.1 



1.9 



13 

 

 



42 



14 

 14 

 

 

 



15 

 20 

 11 

 35 



7 

 36 



9 

 30 

 29 



7 



31 



6 



3 



15 



1 



10 



8 



^ 



4 



Inbred Pen 3 — Crossed 



Table 16 does not show any striking differences in the characteristics of the 

 female breeders used in the check pen as compared with those used in the inbred 

 pens. This fact is further brought out by their annual egg records which depend 

 very largely upon the traits tabulated above (Hays and Sanborn, 1927). If 

 significant differences occur in the character of progeny produced by the four 

 pens, such must be ascribed either to genetic differences in the male parents or 

 to inbreeding. 



Results of Malings — 1927 



Inbreeding affected the sex ratio of surviving chicks. 



The plan of matings for 1927 shows that the check-pen offspring represented 

 a rather high degree of inbreeding, that inbred pen 1 progeny were almost en- 

 tirely from half brother-sister matings, that inbred pen 2 progeny came largely 

 from sire-on-daughter matings and inbred pen 3 progeny represented crosses of 

 inbred hues. 



Check pen progeny showed the low sex ratio in surviving chicks that has been 

 previously referred to in this report as possibly associated with close inbreeding. 

 Inbred pen 1 showed a high sex ratio even though the chicks came largely from 



