6 



BULLETIN 561, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



9.5 pounds each of grain and of mash daily, and 100 Leghorns should 

 receive about 7.5 pounds of each. (See Table 3 for amount in 

 quarts.) The amount of feed consumed varies considerably through- 

 out the year, being greatest just preceding the period of highest egg 

 production, but it does not vary absolutely with production either 

 during one year or when one year is compared with another. (See 

 fig. 1.) This latter fact is readily seen by comparing the average 

 egg yield and total feed consumption in Pens 1 to 6 for their first and 

 second years (see Table 2). The egg yield decreased about 30 per 

 cent in their second year, while the feed consumption decreased only 

 3 per cent. 



A fair grade of beef scrap with a guaranteed protein analysis of 50 

 to 55 per cent, fat 12 to 13 per cent, and 1 to 3 per cent of fiber was 

 used. The cracked corn was white, but the corn meal was ground 

 from yellow corn. The prices of some of the grains were changed in 

 April, 1913, to conform to the market price at that time. That price 

 has since been used without change in figuring all the costs in this 

 bulletin. Prices of individual grains in 1917 are from 20 to 100 per 

 cent higher than the prices used in this bulletin. Present prices of 

 grains should be compared to these prices in arriving at the present 

 cost of producing eggs. 



Table 3. — Price and weight of grains. 





Price per 100 pounds. 



Price pe 



• bushel. 







Grain. 



Up to 

 April, 

 1913. 



After 

 April, 

 1913. 



Up to 

 April, 

 1913. 



After 

 April, 

 1913. 



Weight of 

 1 quart. 





$1.30 



1.90 

 1.60 

 1.74 

 1.35 

 1.40 

 1.45 



11.20 

 1.79 

 1.34 

 1.74 

 1.45 

 1.40 

 1.37 

 2.30 

 2.65 

 1.85 

 .00 

 .GO 



$0.73 

 1.14 

 .51 

 .84 

 .65 



$0.67 



1.07 



.43 



.84 



.70 



Lbs. 

 1 

 1 

 1 

 1 

 1 



Oz. 

 12 



Wheat 



14 



Oats... 







8 





8 





10 











13 















2.50 







1 



5 











Grit 



.00 

 .00 































HENS BALANCING THEIR OWN RATIONS. 



The fowls in Pens 3, 4, and 7 had bran, middlings, corn meal, and 

 beef scrap in separate hoppers before them all the time (see Table 1). 

 Tables 4, 4a, 4b, and 4c show the proportion of these mash feeds 

 eaten by these pens for each 4-week period. 



