260 MY POULTRY DAY BY DAY 
Light Breeds 
During the 1st Period, Section I. included 31 birds 
i 2nd _,, ‘i a i , 
3rd_s,, 3 ” Il ,, 
ry oth ” » oe 3a 
ay roth ,, a8 ” 4» 
Pe Last Period, ,, a 9» 
Heavy Breeds 
During the 1st Period, Sections II., III. and IV. included 12 birds 
a and ,, a5 PF » ° I bird 
7 3rd_i,, re i 2 2 birds 
mh oth ,, ” fe oi 5 
35 roth ,, ai ae a Ir 
Last Period ee 33 1 Fos 
The intervening periods contained only one or two moulting 
birds. 
There can be no doubt that certain conditions are conducive 
to moulting and that these conditions affect the light more readily 
than the heavy breeds. The effect of sudden changes of weather, 
especially a cold wind, is particularly noticeable, while a chill con- 
tracted on the railway journey and the change of conditions of 
housing and management which a bird experiences on entering a 
competition may each or all be sufficient to induce moulting. 
The effect upon the total egg-production is visible by contrasting 
the scores of the birds which moulted during the first three months 
with those which did not do so, or only moulted at the end of the 
trials. 
No. of Birds Average Score of Birds for 10 Months 
Oct. 31st to Feb. 19th Moulting Birds Moulting Not Moulting 
Light Breeds . : 53 166'9 189°6 
Heavy Breeds . . 18 135°4 167'0 
