FEED COST OF EGG PRODUCTION. 17 



difference was 45 eggs per hen in favor of free range. These two pens 

 of Leghorns are apparently fairly comparable, as they are of similar 

 breeding, they were reared under similar conditions, were started at 

 the same time, and received almost similar rations except that in Pen 7 

 the mash constituents were separate while they were mixed together 

 in Pen 8. This difference in the method of feeding, as previously dis- 

 cussed, does not appear to be a material factor in affecting the egg 

 yield. Pen 8, however, received 4 per cent more beef scrap than 

 Pen 7 in 1914, and 16 per cent more in 1915, which is a very material 

 factor. A comparison of Pen 4, which was on free range, with Pen 7 

 (confined) appears to strengthen the conclusion that free range mate- 

 rially increases egg yield, as the percentage of beef scrap consumed in 

 these pens was more nearly equal. The Leghorns ranged over a, 

 wide area, while the general-purpose breeds neither kept- as busy 

 scratching nor ranged over nearly as much ground. 



The use of yards does not appear to affect the mortality among the 

 fowls for a period of one or two years (see Table 2). The loss in the 

 confined pens was in several instances considerably less than in the 

 pens on free range, but part of the additional loss on free range was 

 caused by hawks and missing fowls. The greatest mortality occurred 

 in the pens giving the highest egg production, and it would appear 

 that this difference in egg production, rather than free range, was the 

 material factor in causing the difference in mortality in Pens 7 and 8. 

 It would not appear that free range of itself, except for the loss caused 

 by hawks or other marauders, increased the mortality. Free range did 

 not lower the total consumption of grain nor decrease the cost of feed- 

 ing, except for the green feed which was supplied to the pens confined 

 to yards. On the whole the consumption of grain was greater with 

 the pens on range, owing to the greater production in these pens. The 

 cost of the dry oats used for green feed (sprouted oats) per hen aver- 

 aged about 10 cents per year. A study of all these pens appears to 

 show that free range very materially increases the egg yield in Leg- 

 horns, and somewhat, but to a considerably less extent, in the general- 

 purpose breeds. 



YARDS AND GREEN FEED. 



Pens 3 and 5 each had a large yard containing about 220 square feet 

 of land per fowl and were kept in this yard about one year. They 

 were then moved to a similar yard and the old yard was plowed and 

 planted to grass, clover, and oats. The present plan is to alternate 

 these yards once yearly, plowing and seeding the ground not in use, 

 and thus keep the soil sweet as well as to provide some green feed. 

 The soil in these yards is a heavy clay, parts of which are poorly 

 drained and not well adapted for a permanent greensward. The 

 yards contained only a small amount of grass and weeds when the 

 93905°— Bull. 561 3 



