42 BULLLETIN 561, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The Leghorns on free range gave a considerably greater egg yield 

 than those confined to a fair-sized yard. This difference was less 

 marked in the general-purpose hens. 



Sprouted oats fed as green feed to hens confined to yards cost 

 about 10 cents per hen a year and 1 cent per dozen eggs, not including 

 any charges for labor and equipment. The hens ate on an average 

 in one year about 1.3 pounds of oyster shell and 0.7 of a pound of 

 grit, which together cost about 1 cent per hen. 



The Leghorns did not lay as well in the winter as the general- 

 purpose breeds, especially during their second year, but the Leghorns 

 produced eggs about 3 cents per dozen cheaper during their first year, 

 6.4 cents cheaper in their second year, and 9.8 cents cheaper in their 

 third year than the general-purpose breeds. One pen of Leghorn 

 pullets (Pen 8) produced eggs in their first year at a feed cost of 6.7 

 cents per dozen, while the value of the eggs per -hen for the year was 

 $3.41 over cost of feed. 



The average weight of a dozen eggs from the general-purpose fowls 

 during their pullet year was 1.53 pounds, 1.60 during their second 

 year, and 1.63 during their third laying year. The eggs from the 

 Leghorns averaged 1.45 pounds during their pullet year, and 1.49 

 during their second and third years. 



The egg production of the general-purpose fowls decreased 32 per 

 cent in their second laying year. The decrease was considerably 

 less in the Leghorns, their 2-year average egg production exceeding 

 that of the general-purpose breeds by 19 eggs. The decrease in pro- 

 duction from the second to the third year was only 4 per cent with 

 the Leghorns, compared with 13 per cent in the general-purpose 

 breeds. 



The cheapest eggs are produced in the spring, during April, May, 

 and June, while the greatest costs occur in October, November, and 

 December. The lowest monthly feed cost of a dozen eggs in any of 

 these experiments was 4 cents, while in some cases no eggs at all 

 were produced during the month. 



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