sept, is, 1923 Growing Experimental Chickens m Confinement 
455 
ing leg weakness or any other apparent disorder. That they were nor¬ 
mal seems evident from their thrifty appearance—their smooth feathers, 
clear eyes, and good color of comb and wattles. An average lot is shown 
in Plate 2, B. Their activities of scratching, dusting, brooding, crowing, 
and fighting, and their age of maturing, their weight, egg production, and 
fertility, all indicate that they were normal Single Comb White Leghorns. 
Moreover, 15 fowls from one lot thrived under these conditions for three 
years, when they were discarded. 
On the other hand, the idea must not be entertained that here is an 
easy method of raising experimental chickens and that leg weakness has 
been banished. Unless there is ample light, ventilation, room and clean¬ 
liness, and unless the rations and care are administered consistently, 
especially during the first three months, discontent, inactivity, dimin¬ 
ished or perverted appetites and leg weakness are almost certain to 
appear. 
SUMMARY 
(1) While experimenting in 1916 with chickens raised in confinement, 
a disorder known to poultrymen as leg weakness developed in the flock 
and interfered with the experiments. 
(2) Single Comb White Leghorns proved to be less susceptible to the 
ailment than the heavier breeds, and were used for all subsequent 
experiments. 
(3) Chicks hatched in incubators were placed at once in screened pens. 
Best results have come from the use of guaranteed chicks from commer¬ 
cial hatcheries. 
(4) Marked improvement in the results of raising the chicks was accom¬ 
plished in 1919 by the aid of well-lighted, screened pens, in a steam- 
heated frame building, and by the adoption of an adequate diet, consist¬ 
ing of common grains, a dry mash, green feed, skim milk, oyster shell, 
charcoal, and water. 
(5) Light, roomy, well-ventilated pens with clean litter (preferably 
wheat straw) are valuable assests in keeping the chickens active and 
healthy. 
(6) Under such conditions several hundred experimental chickens have 
been raised to maturity without showing any abnormal symptoms. 
Their growth, behavior, egg-production and weight have been similar to 
such performances of average Single Comb White Leghorns. From one 
lot, 15 individuals thrived in the pens three years, their eggs yielding 
normal hatches and their chicks developing regularly. 
(7) The contention that chicks hatched in late summer or fall do not 
develop as well as spring chicks is partially supported, as leg weakness 
since 1919 has been confined to a lot of fall chicks. Reduced activity, 
possibly due to short, cloudy days, seems to lead to diminished or 
perverted appetites. On the other hand, no leg weakness or other dis¬ 
order developed in a lot of chicks hatched in the fall of 1921. 
(8) Failure to take liberal quantities of green feed and skim milk, 
either from lack of supply or loss of appetite, seems to induce leg weak¬ 
ness in two to three months' old chicks that are rapidly increasing their 
weight and plumage. 
