36 BULLETIN 561, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



A feeding test covering four months made in 1913 in a mixed flock 

 of 70 general-purpose pure-bred hens from 1 to 3 years of age, showed 

 that no material benefit in molting was secured by the addition of 

 1 per cent of linseed meal to the mash. The length of the molting 

 period and the egg yield were practically the same as in the check 

 pen, although the pen receiving the linseed meal produced more eggs 

 during the first part of the molting period and their feathers appeared 

 smoother and more glossy during the entire period. 



VARIATION IN WEIGHT OF THE HENS. 



Table 10 shows the average weight of the hens in Pens 1 to 6 for three 

 years; in Pens 7 to 9 for two years; and for one year in the rest of the 

 pens. The period of greatest average weight occurs in the spring, 

 while the lowest average weight is during the molting period, which 

 is also true of the weight of the eggs. The average weights for each 

 year are given at the bottom of the table. The figures show a tend- 

 ency for the hens of the general-purpose breeds, especially the Barred 

 Plymouth Rocks and the White Wyandottes, to become too fat. 

 The increase in the average monthly weight of hens of the general- 

 purpose breeds in their second over their first year was about 0.5 

 of a pound, compared with an average increase of only 0.16 of a 

 pound for the Leghorns. From their second to the third year the 

 average increase in the general-purpose pens was 0.22 of a pound, 

 compared with 0.17 in Pen 4 (Leghorns). The tendency of the 

 method of feeding in Pen 6 to keep the hens too fat is shown in the 

 average monthly weights of this pen, which exceeded all the other 

 general-purpose pens by 0.45 of a pound, or about S per cent. The 

 average weights and the increase in weight from the second to third 

 year are largest in this pen. 



Pen 9, which did not receive any beef scrap, had a monthly average 

 weight of 0.79 of a pound less than the average of the other general- 

 purpose hens during their first year. The increase in weight, however, 

 from the first to the second year in this nonbeef-scrap pen was 0.55 

 of a pound, or about the same as in the beef -scrap pens. Pens 10 

 and 11, fed cottonseed meal, averaged 1 pound less in weight than 

 Pen 12, fed beef scrap. The average weight of Pens 15 and 16, 

 also cottonseed-meal pens, is much below the average of the beef- 

 scrap pens. The hens in the pens fed cottonseed meal were thin 

 and in poor flesh all the time. This was probably partly due to the 

 fact that these hens did not like the cottonseed meal and ate a 

 very small amount of the mash. Their total feed consumption was 

 considerably below that of the beef-scrap pens. The results secured 

 with cottonseed meal are discussed more in detail on page 13. 



