ANNUAL MOLT IN R. L REDS 23 



Iable 15. — Relation of Duration and Month of Completion of 

 Wing Molt to Subsequent Hatchability. 



Summary of Part II 



Data secured on seven generations of stock bred for high fecundity furnish 

 some important information. 



Production males completed their molt earlier than females. The average 

 date for males was October 30, and they required about 101 days to molt their 

 wing primaries. The date of completion for most females was far in December 

 and they required 122 days or more to shed their wing primary feathers. Very 

 insignificant changes in body weight during molt were observed in both males 

 and females. 



In those females with complete molt, the average number of days of laying 

 while molting wing primaries was 72, with a mean of about 30 eggs. Late com- 

 pletion of wing primary molt was associated with higher persistency and a sig- 

 nificantly greater number of eggs in the first year. Females in the two groups 

 averaged to continue laying until the mean number of wing primaries shed was 

 3.8 and 3.3 respectively. For March and April hatched females, the biological 

 laying year usually terminated in October. 



There was no important association between the duration of wing primary 

 molt and antecedent egg production. Month of onset of wing molt was secondary 

 in importance to month of completion in relation to first-year egg production 

 Selective breeding, in an attempt to lengthen the period of laying while molting, 

 gave inconclusive results. 



GENERAL SUMMARY 



Molting behavior in its relation to first-year egg production was studied in 

 seven generations of Rhode Island Reds. A comparison was made between 

 stocks bred for exhibition color and stocks bred for high fecundity. Both males 

 and females were included in the study and all records were made on the first 

 annual molt. Observations were taken at bi-weekly intervals beginning in the 

 last week of July and extending through the month of December. An analysis 

 of the data secured has led to the following deductions: 



1. Molting behavior was more consistent in the ten wing primary feathers 

 than in five other feather tracts studied. 



2. The number of days and weeks spent in molting in different feather regions 

 was not very important from the standpoint of first-vear egg production. 



