48 Experiment Station Bulletin 367 



crude casein, gelatin, and primary brewer's yeast. The calculated val- 

 ues obtained were .380 per cent methionine and .094 per cent cystine. 

 Results on this ration were slightly more satisfactory than on a ration con- 

 taining .10 per cent choline and calculated to contain .670 per cent 

 methionine and .138 per cent cystine from the same protein supplements. 



R. C. Ringrose, H. A. Davis 



Blue Comb 



Beginning on April 24, 1945, and continuing through July 27, 30,250 

 birds were vaccinated for the prevention of Blue Comb (contagious in- 

 digestion). Results indicate that this vaccination controlled this disease 

 on eight poultry farms where used. Had sufficient vaccine been avail- 

 able, at least 100,000 birds would have been vaccinated for control of the 

 disease. 



T. B. Charles 



Chore Efficiency on Poultry Farms 



Chore practices were studied on 1 1 commercial poultry farms. Stop- 

 watch time records were taken in each case and observations were made 

 as to equipment and how the chores were done. Special emphasis was 

 given to feeding, gathering eggs, and watering. 



The total time for these three practices varied from 47 to 121 man 

 minutes per 1000 layers. The differences in time were due to the fol- 

 lowing factors: 



1 . Personnel 



2. Equipment 



3. Type of watering system 



4. Number of trips 



5. Feeding program 



6. Pen arrangements 



7. House plan 



The operators with low time records obtained their efficiency by 

 simplifying the feeding program and combining chores, thus reducing to 

 three the number of daily trips through the houses. By the use of carriers 

 feeding was done when traveling through the series of pens from the 

 storage room, and eggs were gathered on the return trip. Water bubblers 

 were observed on each trip. 



The greatest variations among farms were due to differences in wa- 

 tering. This was particularly a difficult problem in some houses in the 

 winter on account of freezing. Operators with insulated houses used the 

 automatic bubbler type fountains without difficulty. These required 

 little attention. Some of the operators filled the water containers by hand 

 which required considerable time. Lack of adequate water pressure was 

 a special handicap on some farms. 



Of . course, the men who simplified and combined the chores had less 

 travel. One man, making three trips daily through the pens, traveled 144 

 feet in going through each pen and 204 feet in doing the chores within 



