68 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 417 



space free for birds and for the uninterrupted circulation of air. This arrange- 

 ment materially increased t-he hens' working floor space, which should increase 

 the laying house capacity substantially, an important objective. 



The birds laid a few more eggs in the pen with the new housing arrangement. 

 The moisture content of the litter was somewhat less even though this was an 

 end pen, which made it more difficult to keep dry because of tracked in snow 

 and moisture. The caking of the litter in the two pens showed a greater differ- 

 ence, being worse and more extensive in the pen equipped with the conventional 

 dropping boards and floor hoppers, while in the specially arranged pen it was 

 confined largely to the area around the water fount. 



C. (J. H. Vondell and W. C. Sanctuary.) Birds in four pens in the new in- 

 sulated house were fed two kinds of rations. Two pens received a ration con- 

 sisting of three parts of mash and one part of grain. The other two pens were 

 cafeteria fed mash and grain ad lib., the birds in this case eating less than 50 

 percent mash. It has been claimed that the feeding of all-mash or high-mash 

 rations had no material effect on moisture content of litter. These tests proved 

 the contrary to be true. On December 24 in the two pens where the birds ate a 

 high percentage of mash, the average moisture content of litter was 48 percent 

 (very wet); in the two pens with a low percentage of mash consumption, the 

 moisture content of litter was 33 percent. The feeding method was then reversed, 

 and by December 31 the moisture content of litter had changed with the feeding 

 method, the new high-mash pen having 49 percent moisture and the new low- 

 mash pen going down to 42 percent from the former 48 percent level. 



Other pens, not in the test, where an all-mash ration was compared with a 

 low-mash ration showed similar differences. 



DEPARTMENT OF VETERINARY SCIENCE 

 J. B. Lentz in Charge 



Poultry Disease Control Service. (H. Van Roekel, K. L. Bullis, O. S. Flint, 

 and M. K. Clarke.) 



1. Pullorum Disease Eradication. A keen interest in pullorum disease test- 

 ing has been noted during the past two seasons, particularly during the 1943-44 

 season when the volume of testing increased over the previous season by 142,459 

 tests. The trend in establishing and maintaining pullorum-free flocks continues 

 to be highly favorable. 



In view of war conditions, every possible effort has been made to meet this 

 exceedingly great demand for testing. . However, the strain on the laboratory 

 facilities and personnel should not be of a permanent nature if the quality of the 

 service is to be maintained at a high level. 



Detailed reports of the two testing seasons are published in bulletins of the 

 Control Series. 



2. Diagnostic Service. This section of the report is based on the calendar 

 year of 1943. A total of 3,674 specimens was received in 709 consignments, of 

 which 377 were delivered in person. There was a sharp increase in the number 

 of specimens and an all-time high figure for the laboratory was reached. This 

 was perhaps due to the larger number of birds reared with less help and by in- 

 experienced persons. The specimens were classified as follows: 3,228 chickens, 

 332 turkeys, 28 pheasants, 22 pigeons, 21 ducks, 11 rabbits, 9 each of foxes and 

 swine, 4 canine feces, 3 bovine semen, 2 each of bovine organs, bovine feces, and 

 guinea pigs, and 1 raccoon. 



