92 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 355 



and their dams were half-sisters. Male No. P467 produced 31 daughters with 

 complete records from six non-broody dams. During the first year two daughters 

 were broody, each from a different dam. This sire is indicated as having about 

 6.5 percent of broody daughters when mated to non-broody females. Male No. 

 P911 sired from seven non-broody dams a total of 54 daughters with complete 

 records. None of these daughters exhibited the broody instinct in their first 

 laying year. 



In the high fecundity experiments for the year 1937, 346 daughters have just 

 completed their first year. Only 7 or 2.02 percent of these daughters have been 

 broody. 



A study of the last five generations indicates that deferred broodiness is not a 

 significant phenomenon in hens after the completion of the second laying year. 

 In this experiment the families of daughters from sires that gave no broodiness 

 will be carried through their second laying year. 



Statistical Study of Heredity in Rhode Island Reds. (F. A. Hays and Ruby 

 Sanborn.) Data have been tabulated and proposed for publication as follows: 

 Time interval between clutches in Rhode Island Red Pullets, Jour. Agr. Research 

 57(8):575-582. The Absence of Linkage Between Genes for Early Sexual Mat- 

 urity and Genes for High Persistency in Domestic Fowl, Paper for 7th World's 

 Poultry Congress. Breeding Small Flocks of Domestic Fowl for High Fecundity, 

 Paper for 1938 Meeting Genetics Society of America. Data have been completed 

 for two bulletins. 



A Genetic Study of Rhode Island Red Color. (F. A. Hays.) From a founda- 

 tion of exhibition stock from one breeder, eight generations have now been carried 

 through a full laying year. The original stock was hatched in 1929. From this 

 group of 45 pullets and 27 cockerels, an attempt has been made to develop two 

 lines: one bred entirely for exhibition plumage color, and the other selectively 

 bred for characters known to affect fecundity. The eighth generation showed a 

 mean annual egg production of 150 and 175 eggs respectively for the two lines. 

 Color remained satisfactory in both lines, fertilit}' declined greatl}-, and mortality- 

 became excessive. No progress was made after the second generation. The 

 data point to failure resulting from an attempt to breed for high fecundity with 

 small numbers. 



Rate of Feathering in Rhode Island Reds. (F. A. Hays.) An attempt is being 

 made to establish an early-feathered line that shows complete back feathering at 

 8 weeks of age and a slow-feathered line that shows absence of back feathering 

 at that age. The sires used in the first line had complete back feathering at & 

 weeks of age, and the sires used in the second line had no back feathering at 

 8 weeks. In the fifth generation, hatched in 1938, 134 cockerels in the early 

 feathering line showed 43 percent early feathered; and 39 cockerels in the late 

 line showed 15.4 percent early feathered. 



All chicks were classified for rate of feathering as shown by the presence or 

 absence of tail feathers on the twelfth day. On this basis, only 3 out of 134 

 cockerels in the early line were early feathered; and none of the 39 cockerels in 

 the slow line showed early feathering. These data indicate that the rate of 

 feathering in the dorsal tract is not related to the appearance of tail feathers 

 at 12 days. 



No method has been developed for distinguishing between early and late 

 feathered females. 



Time of Emergence of Chicks from the Shell as a Factor in Poultry Breeding. 



(F. A. Hays and J. W. Locke.) Records have been secured on the time of emer- 



