20 BULLETIN 1052, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE. 



Birds which make small gains in the beginning show small gains 

 at the end, probably because of their physical condition (Table 19). 



The average daily gains made by springs in the different periods 

 are 2.14 per cent during the first 8 days, 2.38 per cent from the ninth 

 to eleventh day, inclusive, and 1.48 per cent during the last period. 

 These results show that springs grow very rapidly during the first 

 11 days, and, although their growth is less rapid during the last 

 period, they still make a fairly good gain. 



The roasters made an average daily gain in the different periods 

 of 2.78, 1.55, 0.80, and 0.56 per cent, respectively. Thus their most 

 rapid gain occurred during the first 4 days, the daily gain during the 

 second 4 days being fairly rapid, but very small during the rest of 

 the time. 



As previously noted, a large part of the gains made by hens is in 

 the form of fat. Moreover, the gains are small and erratic. The 

 average percentage daily gains made by these hens during the differ- 

 ent periods of feeding were 1.02, 0.92, 0.75, and 0.63 per cent, respec- 

 tively. These small gains, with their high content of fat, indicate 

 that the customary practice of feeding hens for only 6 to 8 days is 

 well founded. 



COMPOSITION OF POULTRY BEFORE AND AFTER FEEDING. 



The various rations, differing in quality though containing all the 

 essential nutrients, had no consistent effect upon the losses in dressing 

 and chilling nor upon the percentage composition of birds of the same 

 class. Broilers, springs, roasters, and hens, each considered as a class, 

 exhibited marked differences, however. Since a ration consisting 

 of corn meal (40 parts) and buttermilk (60 parts) was used with 

 each experimental ration as a control, more data were accumulated 

 with it than with any of the others. The results obtained with the 

 control ration only, therefore, uxe presented in detail to show the 

 differences in composition and dressing losses of the four classes of 

 birds. 



WEIGHT LOST IN DRESSING. 



Table 20 gives a summary of the results of the experiments on the 

 medium-weight breeds, including Rhode Island Reds, Plymouth 

 Rocks, and Wyandottes, to determine the amount lost by the various 

 classes during dressing (Tables 11 and 12). 



