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Range vs. Confinement for Laying Hens
fected birds; it leads the poultryman to a careful study of individuals and methods of breeding which have never before been considered. ROY JONES.
ing the entire experiment the lot on range consumed 4.7 lbs. of shells and .4 lb. of grit and the lot in confinement consumed 3.7 lbs. of shells and .6 lb. of grit per hen. Some of the results of this experiment are shown in Table I.
RANGE
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Florida Atlantic University on May 22, 2015
VS. CONFINEMENT FOR TABLE I. LAYING HENS. RANGE VS. CONFINEMENT FOR LAYING HENS. In May, 1912, the Ohio Experiment StaExperiment I. tion began an experiment to compare rate and economy of egg production of hens S. C. White Leghorns hatched Spring of kept closely confined with that of hens al1910. lowed range on bluegrass pasture. Experiment began May 5, 1912, lasted 882 Housing for each lot was alike, consistdays. ing of a pen 20x26 feet in size in a halfRATION : monitor roof house. The confined lot was Grain—Cracked corn, 3 parts; wheat 1 given access to a yard 26x60 feet in size part. during warm weather. This yard was Mash—Ground corn, 4 _parts; bran, 2 covered with gravel, and furnished no green feed. The lot on range had access parts; meat scrap, 2 parts; linseed oilmeal, to approximately two acres of good blue- 1 part. grass pasture. Some other stock, however, Experiment II. was also pastured on this plot. S. C. White Leghorns, hatched Spring of The hens used were S. C. White Leg1913. horns, hatched in the spring of 1910. For Experiment began November 30, 1913, 17 months, from Dec. 5, 1910 to May 4, lasted 364 days. 1912, both lots were treated alike, and the hens later placed on range produced 4.2% Experiment II. less eggs than did those kept in confinement, indicating that, so far as the hens Percentage Egg Production by four-week periods. are concerned, there may have been a slight advantage in favor of those kept in Confined On Range confinement. Nov. 30-Dec. 27, 1913 28.57 50.69 The ration used in this experiment was Dec. 28-Jan. 24, 1914 35.40 48.62 comparatively simple. The grain mixture, Jan. 25-Feb. 21 42.26 60.46 fed twice daily in the litter, consisted of 3 Feb. 22-Mch. 21 57.41 57.52 parts cracked corn and 1 part wheat. The Mch. 22-Apr. 18 60.00 71.12 mash mixture, fed dry in hoppers to which Apr. 19-May 16 58.31 72.87 the hens had constant access, was com- May 17-June 13 48.51 64.28 posed of 4 parts ground corn, 2 parts June 14-July 11 47.47 60.56 wheat bran, 2 parts meat scrap (guaran- July 12-Aug. 8 50.22 41.50 teed to contain 50% protein) and 1 part Aug. 9-Sept. 5 42.99 35.11 linseed oilmeal. In addition to this the 35.26 Sept. 6-Oct. 3 .. 25.30 hens were given only oyster shells and grit. 20.58 Oct. 4-Oct. 31 . 10.16 No green feed was given the lot in confine- Nov. 1-Nov. 28 7.34 1.67 ment, and the lot on range received only such as they secured from the range. Dur- For entire experiment 38.2 49F Experiment No. 1. Confined. On Range Number in lot May 5, 1912 .. 99 103 Mortality to October 3, 1914 . 23 16 Loss in weight per hen, lb. . . .16 .09 Grain consumed per hen 104.2 98.6 Mash consumed per hen 42.6 46.9 Eggs produced per hen 241. 278.3 •Cost of feed per dozen eggs. 9.75c. 8.48c. Experiment No. 2. Confined. On Range. Number at beginning of experiment 57. 57. Mortality 3. 4. Loss in weight per hen, lb .20 .14 Grain consumed per hen 45.1 45.8 Mash consumed per hen 20.5 21.3 Eggs produced per hen , 139.2 18L2 •Cost of food per dozen eggs produced 7.6c. 6.04c. •Prices per cwt. for feeds as used in calculations. Ground and cracked corn $1.09 Meat scraps $2.75 Wheat 1.50 Linseed oilmeal 1.80 Bran 1.40 Shells and grit 75 23
Summary. In Experiment I, the lot on range produced 15.5% more eggs, and consumed .9% less feed (aside from grass) than did the lot in confinement. Percentage mortality was about 50% higher with the lot in confinement. In Experiment II, the lot on range produced 30.9% more eggs, and consumed 2.3% more feed (aside from grass) than did the lot in confinement. Mortality was slightly higher in the lot on range during the period covered by these figures. However, this experiment has been continued, and, up to the present time, seven hens have died in the confined lot and five in the range lot. While these figures show rather conclusively that better results will be secured by allowing laying hens to have range, yet the results indicate that where it is not possible to secure range, hens can be kept at a profit in rather close confinement. Ohio Experiment Station. W. J. Buss. POULTRY WORK AT THE GEORGIA STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE. The Poultry Department of the Georgia State College of Agriculture, at Athens, Ga., was organized in the winter of 1912. LeRoy L. Jones, a graduate of the Michigan Agricultural College, was the first official poultryman and to him fell the task of securing the necessary land, and putting it in shape for the poultry plant, and office building. He secured five acres of land adjoining the college campus, and erected thereon a two-story building, containing offices, classroom and laboratory. Five 14x24 laying houses and eight 8x10 colony houses were also erected. When Mr. Jones left the Department there were 150 hens in the laying houses, and 500 pullets and cockerels on the range. Of this number
300 pullets were selected as layers and put into the houses. Mr. Jones resigned from his position with us in September, of last year, and joined the Purdue Department. My own work for the State of Georgia began on October 1, 1914. We now have 300 yearling hens in the laying houses, and 200 select pullets on range, which will go into the houses this fall. We have recently completed a 60-foot brooder house, using the Candee system, with accommodations for about 1500 chicks. Owing to the demand for chickens for frying in the South, we intend to start our hatching about the first of August, so as to have a supply of fries for the Christmas market. While the plant is used for instructional purposes, and is maintained entirely by the State College of Agriculture, we have no affiliation with Georgia Experiment Station, and hence do little work of research character. The plant is commercial rather than experimental. However, as our resources grow, we hope to be able to pay more attention to experimental work. Our most important work so far has been the devising and trying out of economical rations. Feed stuffs are high in the South, due to the high freight rates from the North, and to the fact that the chief crop on Georgia farms is cotton. However, when diversification is practiced more widely on the farms in our state, grain will be cheaper. We are now carrying on a test with cottonseed meal, which has gone favorably so far, but is not sufficiently complete for me to give any data. Contrary to the general notion, southern farmers have fed cottonseed meal to their chickens for many years, but always in a haphazard manner. We are trying to determine just how much can be fed to get best results. The Board of Trustees of the College appropriates annually the sum of $1,400 to the Poultry Department for the running expenses. To this amount, we also add the receipts from the poultry plant, which for the past year have averaged over $50 per month. In addition to the above appropriation, all salaries and travelling expenses are paid, with the exception of the salary of Mr. Taylor, which is paid by the Federal Government, under the SmithLever Act. New buildings which are erected from time to time are also paid for from another account. Instruction was given to fourteen juniors and to some two hundred boys and girls, who attended the short courses, during the past year. With climate and soil in our favor, and the gradual enlightenment of the people to the wonderful natural opportunities which are theirs, the possibilities of the poultry industry in Georgia look very bright indeed. ROY E. IHVJN,
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Florida Atlantic University on May 22, 2015
In November, 1913, a second experiment along this line was begun. The fowls used in this experiment were similar to those of the experiment just discussed. Each lot of 57 pullets had access to a house of the shed roof type 10x24 feet in size. The plot of grass occupied by the lot on range contained 1.4 acres. Other stock was also pastured on this plot. The second part of Table I shows the results of this experiment for 52 weeks. The egg production of both lots was very satisfactory, indeed. That of the lot on range was especially gratifying. Taking the production for one year from the time they began laying, 20 of the 53 hens that were living at the end produced over 200 eggs each, their average production being 223.4. The highest individual record was 269. The percentage egg production ,of these two lots by four-week periods is shown in Table II.
ing the entire experiment the lot on range consumed 4.7 lbs. of shells and .4 lb. of grit and the lot in confinement consumed 3.7 lbs. of shells and .6 lb. of grit per hen. Some of the results of this experiment are shown in Table I.
RANGE
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Florida Atlantic University on May 22, 2015
VS. CONFINEMENT FOR TABLE I. LAYING HENS. RANGE VS. CONFINEMENT FOR LAYING HENS. In May, 1912, the Ohio Experiment StaExperiment I. tion began an experiment to compare rate and economy of egg production of hens S. C. White Leghorns hatched Spring of kept closely confined with that of hens al1910. lowed range on bluegrass pasture. Experiment began May 5, 1912, lasted 882 Housing for each lot was alike, consistdays. ing of a pen 20x26 feet in size in a halfRATION : monitor roof house. The confined lot was Grain—Cracked corn, 3 parts; wheat 1 given access to a yard 26x60 feet in size part. during warm weather. This yard was Mash—Ground corn, 4 _parts; bran, 2 covered with gravel, and furnished no green feed. The lot on range had access parts; meat scrap, 2 parts; linseed oilmeal, to approximately two acres of good blue- 1 part. grass pasture. Some other stock, however, Experiment II. was also pastured on this plot. S. C. White Leghorns, hatched Spring of The hens used were S. C. White Leg1913. horns, hatched in the spring of 1910. For Experiment began November 30, 1913, 17 months, from Dec. 5, 1910 to May 4, lasted 364 days. 1912, both lots were treated alike, and the hens later placed on range produced 4.2% Experiment II. less eggs than did those kept in confinement, indicating that, so far as the hens Percentage Egg Production by four-week periods. are concerned, there may have been a slight advantage in favor of those kept in Confined On Range confinement. Nov. 30-Dec. 27, 1913 28.57 50.69 The ration used in this experiment was Dec. 28-Jan. 24, 1914 35.40 48.62 comparatively simple. The grain mixture, Jan. 25-Feb. 21 42.26 60.46 fed twice daily in the litter, consisted of 3 Feb. 22-Mch. 21 57.41 57.52 parts cracked corn and 1 part wheat. The Mch. 22-Apr. 18 60.00 71.12 mash mixture, fed dry in hoppers to which Apr. 19-May 16 58.31 72.87 the hens had constant access, was com- May 17-June 13 48.51 64.28 posed of 4 parts ground corn, 2 parts June 14-July 11 47.47 60.56 wheat bran, 2 parts meat scrap (guaran- July 12-Aug. 8 50.22 41.50 teed to contain 50% protein) and 1 part Aug. 9-Sept. 5 42.99 35.11 linseed oilmeal. In addition to this the 35.26 Sept. 6-Oct. 3 .. 25.30 hens were given only oyster shells and grit. 20.58 Oct. 4-Oct. 31 . 10.16 No green feed was given the lot in confine- Nov. 1-Nov. 28 7.34 1.67 ment, and the lot on range received only such as they secured from the range. Dur- For entire experiment 38.2 49F Experiment No. 1. Confined. On Range Number in lot May 5, 1912 .. 99 103 Mortality to October 3, 1914 . 23 16 Loss in weight per hen, lb. . . .16 .09 Grain consumed per hen 104.2 98.6 Mash consumed per hen 42.6 46.9 Eggs produced per hen 241. 278.3 •Cost of feed per dozen eggs. 9.75c. 8.48c. Experiment No. 2. Confined. On Range. Number at beginning of experiment 57. 57. Mortality 3. 4. Loss in weight per hen, lb .20 .14 Grain consumed per hen 45.1 45.8 Mash consumed per hen 20.5 21.3 Eggs produced per hen , 139.2 18L2 •Cost of food per dozen eggs produced 7.6c. 6.04c. •Prices per cwt. for feeds as used in calculations. Ground and cracked corn $1.09 Meat scraps $2.75 Wheat 1.50 Linseed oilmeal 1.80 Bran 1.40 Shells and grit 75 23
Summary. In Experiment I, the lot on range produced 15.5% more eggs, and consumed .9% less feed (aside from grass) than did the lot in confinement. Percentage mortality was about 50% higher with the lot in confinement. In Experiment II, the lot on range produced 30.9% more eggs, and consumed 2.3% more feed (aside from grass) than did the lot in confinement. Mortality was slightly higher in the lot on range during the period covered by these figures. However, this experiment has been continued, and, up to the present time, seven hens have died in the confined lot and five in the range lot. While these figures show rather conclusively that better results will be secured by allowing laying hens to have range, yet the results indicate that where it is not possible to secure range, hens can be kept at a profit in rather close confinement. Ohio Experiment Station. W. J. Buss. POULTRY WORK AT THE GEORGIA STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE. The Poultry Department of the Georgia State College of Agriculture, at Athens, Ga., was organized in the winter of 1912. LeRoy L. Jones, a graduate of the Michigan Agricultural College, was the first official poultryman and to him fell the task of securing the necessary land, and putting it in shape for the poultry plant, and office building. He secured five acres of land adjoining the college campus, and erected thereon a two-story building, containing offices, classroom and laboratory. Five 14x24 laying houses and eight 8x10 colony houses were also erected. When Mr. Jones left the Department there were 150 hens in the laying houses, and 500 pullets and cockerels on the range. Of this number
300 pullets were selected as layers and put into the houses. Mr. Jones resigned from his position with us in September, of last year, and joined the Purdue Department. My own work for the State of Georgia began on October 1, 1914. We now have 300 yearling hens in the laying houses, and 200 select pullets on range, which will go into the houses this fall. We have recently completed a 60-foot brooder house, using the Candee system, with accommodations for about 1500 chicks. Owing to the demand for chickens for frying in the South, we intend to start our hatching about the first of August, so as to have a supply of fries for the Christmas market. While the plant is used for instructional purposes, and is maintained entirely by the State College of Agriculture, we have no affiliation with Georgia Experiment Station, and hence do little work of research character. The plant is commercial rather than experimental. However, as our resources grow, we hope to be able to pay more attention to experimental work. Our most important work so far has been the devising and trying out of economical rations. Feed stuffs are high in the South, due to the high freight rates from the North, and to the fact that the chief crop on Georgia farms is cotton. However, when diversification is practiced more widely on the farms in our state, grain will be cheaper. We are now carrying on a test with cottonseed meal, which has gone favorably so far, but is not sufficiently complete for me to give any data. Contrary to the general notion, southern farmers have fed cottonseed meal to their chickens for many years, but always in a haphazard manner. We are trying to determine just how much can be fed to get best results. The Board of Trustees of the College appropriates annually the sum of $1,400 to the Poultry Department for the running expenses. To this amount, we also add the receipts from the poultry plant, which for the past year have averaged over $50 per month. In addition to the above appropriation, all salaries and travelling expenses are paid, with the exception of the salary of Mr. Taylor, which is paid by the Federal Government, under the SmithLever Act. New buildings which are erected from time to time are also paid for from another account. Instruction was given to fourteen juniors and to some two hundred boys and girls, who attended the short courses, during the past year. With climate and soil in our favor, and the gradual enlightenment of the people to the wonderful natural opportunities which are theirs, the possibilities of the poultry industry in Georgia look very bright indeed. ROY E. IHVJN,
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Florida Atlantic University on May 22, 2015
In November, 1913, a second experiment along this line was begun. The fowls used in this experiment were similar to those of the experiment just discussed. Each lot of 57 pullets had access to a house of the shed roof type 10x24 feet in size. The plot of grass occupied by the lot on range contained 1.4 acres. Other stock was also pastured on this plot. The second part of Table I shows the results of this experiment for 52 weeks. The egg production of both lots was very satisfactory, indeed. That of the lot on range was especially gratifying. Taking the production for one year from the time they began laying, 20 of the 53 hens that were living at the end produced over 200 eggs each, their average production being 223.4. The highest individual record was 269. The percentage egg production ,of these two lots by four-week periods is shown in Table II.