BREEDING FOR EGG PRODUCTION 



By F. A. Hays, Research Professor, and Ruby Sanborn, Research Assistant, 

 in Poultry Husbandry 



In a study of the mode of inheritance of high fecundity, Rhode Island Reds 

 have been bred experimentally at the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment 

 Station for a period of twenty-one years. The data presented in this report 

 cover the birds hatched from 1913 to 1932, inclusive, and are based very largely 

 on pullet-year records. 



A number of significant discoveries related to the inheritance of fecundity 

 have been made from time to time as this experiment progressed and these have 

 already been reported. This report summarizes the methods of breeding and the 

 results accomplished up to the present time and may serve in a measure as a guide 

 to poultry breeders. 



The General History of the Flocki 



The initial flock consisted of 144 single-comb Rhode Island Red pullets pur- 

 chased in the fall of 1912. The major portion of the birds came from one prom- 

 inent exhibition flock and the remainder from another well-known exhibition 

 flock. These pullets were housed in two units and trapnested throughout the 

 year. The original records include date of first egg, hour of laying, broody records, 

 nesting records, and sickness or injury notes, together with egg records to March 

 1 and for 365 days from first pullet egg. 



The males used to produce the first generation in 1913 came, with one excep- 

 tion, from the same breeding farm as the major portion of the original females. 

 The generation produced in 1914 was sired largely by the original males or their 

 sons, but in addition four outside males from different sources were used for 

 breeding. The results obtained with the generations hatched in 1913 and 1914 

 were not considered satisfactory because the birds were lacking in vigor. For 

 this reason, ten outside males from widely different sources were used for breeding 

 in 1915, besides a few of the foundation males and a number of their sons. Since 

 the breeding season of 1915, outside stock has not been used in this experiment. 

 Since 1920 all males used as breeders have been found to trace back exclusively 

 either to one original male used in 1913 or to one outside male introduced in 1915. 



The first generation of offspring was hatched in 1913 between March 25 and 

 May 15, at weekly intervals. The same hatching dates with eight weekly 

 hatches have been maintained through 1932. The method of feeding and man- 

 agement has been changed only gradually to conform to modern developments. 



Artificial methods such as confinement rearing have never been employed, 

 the chicks when taken from the incubators being placed in 6 X 6 colony brooder 

 houses heated by kerosene brooders up to 1917; after 1917 in 10 X 12 colony 

 brooder houses heated by stoves. Up to 1921 pullets were regularly housed 

 when about six months of age in units of about 100. Beginning in 1922, pullets 



'The experimental work reported here was planned and directed by H. D. Goodale from 1912 

 to 1922. Since 1922 the work has been carried on by F. A. Hays. . 



