Effect of Certain Rations on the Efficiency of Breeders

Abstract

One of the poultryman’s biggest problems is to renew the flock. This depends in a large measure upon incubation. To be successful in incubation one must have good, fertile eggs that will develop vigorous chicks. The feeding and care of the breeders will determine very largely the quality of the eggs they will produce.

In determining the efficiency of our breeders we must take into consideration the following factors: feed costs, number of eggs produced, fertility, hatchability, cost to produce a chick, chick mortality, and quality of the chicks.

In the experiment which is here reported all conditions were made as uniform as possible, with the ration as the variable factor. The basal or check grain mixture consisted of six parts of cracked corn, three parts of oats, one part of wheat. The mash mixture was made up of one part each of corn meal, wheat bran, wheat middlings, ground . . .