38a EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan, 



DEPARTMENT OF POULTRY HUSBANDRY. 



H. D. GOOD ALE. 



Good progress in establishing a strain of non-broody high 

 producers has been made. Indeed, it is beheved that such a 

 strain is already in hand, but the tests necessary to sub- 

 stantiate this statement will require two or more years. 



A theory of the inheritance of broodiness has been developed, 

 based on the study of records extending over a period of six 

 years and involving over 2,000 birds. Generally speaking, 

 the fundamental hereditary basis of broodiness is alike in all 

 birds, but upon this basis may be superimposed genetic modi- 

 fiers, in addition to environmental modifying factors, which 

 operate either to increase or decrease the amount of broodiness. 

 Absence of broodiness is due to changes either in the funda- 

 mental basis for broodiness or to inhibitors; hence, there are 

 probably many different genetic kinds of non-broodiness. 



Daily temperature records have been kept on a series of 

 birds, the chief interest of which lies in the discovery that a 

 bird's temperature drops sharply at the onset of a broody 

 period, and, if the bird is allowed to incubate eggs, returns to 

 normal only during the latter part of the incubation period. 

 It had commonly been supposed that the broody hen was in a 

 febrile condition. 



An attempt to use the same piece of ground two years in 

 succession in rearing chicks proved unsatisfactory the second 

 year. To determine the reasons for this result requires further 

 work. 



It may be of interest to report on the production of this 

 station's high-producing line in hands other than ours. Fifty- 

 five pullets, full sisters of the birds in our own pens, but 

 hatched May 27, i.e., after our own hatching season was 

 completed, left our hands as day-old chicks, and were reared 



