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Spring Bluegrass versus Mature Bluegrass as Pasture for Laying Hens
Spring Bluegrass versus Mature Bluegrass as Pasture for Laying Hens G. DAVIS BUCKNER, W. M. INSKO, JR., AND AMANDA HARMS* Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station, Lexington, Kentucky (Received for publication November 23, 1942)
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the utilization of certain rations by laying hens. In Kentucky, bluegrass (Poa pratensis) usually begins to make good growth in late February or early March, as the weather permits, heads out in May, and the seed is ripe in June. If the grass is not grazed or cut, the seed stalks ripen, become straw colored, and fall; and the ground is covered with a mat of mature leaves, some of which may lose their green color. Little new growth appears until cool weather and fall rains come. If grazed or kept mowed, however, growth continues, provided rainfall is adequate. Fall growth usually is considerable, depending on the rainfall, but there is little or no growth from early December to late February. Drouth in late summer or fall may prevent growth for a month or two. The authors have found that laying hens confined in a laying battery ate 15 to 20 grams of fine-chopped succulent bluegrass per hen daily when it was kept fresh before them. These figures, however, are probably
Meat scrap 6.0 Salt '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'..'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. l!o Bonemeal 2^5 Cod liver oil concentrate 0.5 * S a m e a s t h a t fed lot l in Ky. Exp. Sta. Bull. 423.
* T h e investigation reported in this paper was in connection with a project of the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station and is published
^
with permission of the director.
low as compared with the quantity eaten by hens which have access to bluegrass pasture. In view of these findings it is important to know the value of bluegrass pasture as a supplement to a complete allmash ration for laying hens, at the time of the year when the grass is growing rapidly, and also of mature grass, after the period of rapid growth. With this in view 69 White Leghorn yearling hens from the Experiment Station flock were divided into three groups designated lots 1, 2, and 3, equalizing as nearly as possible the weights of the hens and egg records from the pullet year, which ineluded the number of eggs laid, their weight, and hatchability. Each group was put into a 12 by 12 foot laying house May 2, 1940, and fed all they would eat of the complete all-mash mixture shown in Table Chemica
l
. m a s h 1S
analysis
. 8lven
ln T a b l e
0f
a s a m p l e of t h i s , , 2 T w 0 COcks haVln 8
high fertilizing power were kept in each [248]
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HE experiment reported herein comTABLE 1.—Ingredients of the mash fed.the hens* === pares bluegrass growing in April and n g r e ien ercen May with the mature grass, which has been undisturbed until June, as pasture for lay- Ground yellow corn 5.3.5 r r j ' i . i Ti • . <• Mixed wheat feed 21.0 ing hens fed a complete mash. It is part of Soybean oil meal 4.0 a study of the effect of bluegrass range on Alfalfa leaf meal 2.0
SPRING VERSUS MATURE BLUEGRASS AS PASTURE FOR LAYING HENS TABLE 2.—Chemical analysis of a sample of the mash fed the hens Percent Crude protein Ether extract Crude Nitrogen-free extract Ash Water
16.6 4.3 3.2 61.4 4.0 10.5
fiber
100.0 2.1 1.0 0.09
Percent nitrogen-free extract+2j percent ether extract, divided by percent protein
4.2
pen during the periods eggs were saved for hatching. The three lots were kept housed on the all-mash diet until June 25, 1940, when lot 3 was given free access to a 50 by 100 foot plot of bluegrass which had not been
cut or grazed that year but had been kept free of other vegetation than bluegrass. Lot 2 was given access to a plot of the same size which was kept bare of vegetation. Lot 1 continued in the house. The complete mash was kept before all lots continuously. When lot 3 was given access to pasture the bluegrass was 12 to 14 inches high, the ripened seed had fallen, the seed stalks and many blades had lost their green color, and very little new green grass was observed. This condition continued until the end of this period, July 25, 1940. At this time all the hens were returned to the general flock and housed with bluegrass range except in bad weather, until March 28, 1941, when they were confined in their houses again on the all-mash diet until April 17, 1941. Then lots 2 and 3 were again given access to the same bare and bluegrass plots as before,
TABLE 3.—Analyses of bluegrass from the plot on which the hens of lot 3 ranged (percent) 1941 spring growth
1940 mature grass June 25
July 7
July 19
Average
April 17
April 29
May 11
May 23
Average
In the fresh grass Crude protein Ether extract Crude fiber Nitrogen-free extract Crude ash
4.1 1.2 14.1 20.7 2.1
3.9 1.1 14.7 23.4 1.9
3.6 1.1 15.3 23.1 1.7
3.9 1.1 14.7 22.4 1.9
4.9 0.9 6.3 12.9 2.5
5.1 1.1 7.3 14.0 2.5
5.3 1.0 9.3 17.1 1-7
5.9 1.6 13.7 17.2 2.5
5.3 1.1 9.2 15.3 2.3
Total dry matter Water
42.2 57.8
45.0 55.0
44.8 55.2
44.0 56.0
27.5 72.5
30.0 70.0
34.4 65.6
40.9 59.1
33.2 66.8
Silica Calcium Phosphorus Calculated water-free Crude protein Ether extract Crude fiber Nitrogen-free extract Crude ash Silica Calcium Phosphorus
0.5 0.21 0.16 9.7 2.8 33.4 49.1 5.0
0.5 0.20 0.13 8.7 2.4 32.7 52.0 4.2
0.4 0.18 0.10 8.0 2.5 34.2 51.5 3.8
0.5 0.20 0.13 8.8 2.6 33.4 50.9 4.3
0.6 0.17 0.14 17.8 3.3 22.9 46.9 9.1
0.7 0.15 0.15 17.0 3.7 24.3 46.7 8.3
0.4 0.17 0.14 15.4 2.9 27.0 49.7 5.0
14.4 3.9 33.5 42.1 6.1
0.6 0.18 0.15 16.2 3.5 26.9 46.3 7.1
1.18 0.50 0.38
1.11 0.44 0.29
0.89 0.40 0.22
1.14 0.45 0.30
2.18 0.62 0.51
2.33 0.50 0.50
1.16 0.49 0.41
1.47 0.59 0.46
1.81 0.55 0.47
5.7
6.6
7.1
6.4
3.1
3.3
3.7
3.0
3 3
% N . F . E . + 2 J % Ether Ext. % Protein
0.6 0.24 0.19
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Calcium Phosphorus Silica
249
250
G. DAVIS BUCKNER, W. M. INSKO. JR., AND AMANDA HARMS
TABLE 4.—Average egg production, hatchability, and amount of mash eaten when all the hens were confined to the house, on the all-mash diet, immediately before each experimental period 1940 May 22 to June 24
Eggs laid, average number per hen per six-day p"eriod Average egg weight, grams Hatchability, average percent of fertile eggs1 Mash eaten, average pounds per hen per day 1 2
Lot 1
Lot 2
Lot 3
Lotl
Lot 2
Lot 3
4.0 58.9 64.8 2 0.28
3.9 54.4 52.9 2 0.29
4.5 56.2 59.I 2 0.28
4.4 60.1 86.1 3 0.30
4.3 58.8 83.5 3 0.29
3.9 59.7 82.9 3 0.29
From hens that laid 12 or more fertile eggs during the experiment. Eggs of June 11 to 17, 1940. Eggs of April 4 to 10, 1941.
while lot 1 was kept housed. Nine hens had died between September, 1940, and March 28, 1941, so that lot 1 contained 22 hens, lot 2, 20, and lot 3, 18, during the second period of the experiment. At the beginning of this period, April 17, 1941, the old growth of grass had fallen over, forming a mat near the ground, and had weathered during the winter. The new growth of grass coming up through the old grass mat was green and three to four inches high. Until the end of this period, May 22, 1941, the growth was continuous, reached a height of about 10 inches, and the seed was forming. Table 3 gives chemical analyses of samples of bluegrass from the range of the hens in lot 3 obtained on the dates indicated.
It will be seen that the greatest differences in the analyses of the bluegrass on the area given to lot 3 during the summer period and during the spring period are the larger percentages of fiber and nitrogen-free extract in the summer grass and the larger percentages of water and protein in the spring grass. Table 4 gives egg production, hatchability, and the average amount of mash eaten by the hens in each lot while they were confined to the houses, before the experimental periods. Feed consumption per hen was practically the same in the three lots during each confinement period. Table S gives the corresponding data for the experimental periods during the summer and spring seasons when lots 2 and 3
TABLE 5.—Egg production, hatchability, and amount of mash eaten during each experimental period 1940 June 25 to July 24
Eggs laid, average number per hen per six-day period Average egg weight, grams Hatchability, average percent of fertile eggs1 Mash eaten, average pounds per hen per day 1 2 3
1941 April 17 to May 22
Lot 1 confined to house
Lot 2 bare range
Lot 3 bluegrass range, mature grass
Lotl confined to house
Lot 2 bare range
Lot 3 bluegrass range, spring growth
4.1 57.5 80.4 2 0.27
4.0 55.4 80.4 2 0.28
4.0 56.5 81.0 2 0.28
4.5 59.2 81.1* 0.27
4.0 56.3 79.4 3 0.25
4.4 56.0 85.8 3 0.21
From hens that laid 12 or more fertile eggs during the experiment. Eggs of June 24 to July 22, 1940. Eggs of April 17 to May 15, 1941.
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at New York University on April 5, 2015
3
1941 March 28 to April 17
SPRING VERSUS MATURE BLUEGRASS AS PASTURE FOR LAYING HENS
the crop or gizzard. During the spring grass-growing season hens in this lot were observed to eat the bluegrass freely and the crop and gizzard of hens in an adjoining plot contained undigested grass. Neither the health nor the average weights of the hens in the three lots were influenced by the treatment and conditions governing them during the experiment. SUMMARY
A study of the experimental data in this paper shows that bare or bluegrass range in connection with a complete all-mash ration for laying hens does not influence feed consumption during the summer period after the grass has matured and partly lost its green color. However, the hens consumed less mash when given access to a bare or bluegrass range during the spring growing season than when confined. Less mash was consumed on the bluegrass plot than on the bare plot during this season. The health and weight of the hens apparently were not influenced by a bluegrass range. Neither weight nor hatchability of eggs was influenced by the treatment the hens received during this experiment. Bluegrass pasture during its growing season increased egg production.
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at New York University on April 5, 2015
were given access to bare and bluegrass range, respectively. About the same quantity of mash was eaten by the hens of the three lots during the summer period but in the spring period, feed consumption in the two lots that had range was appreciably less than in the confined lot. The feed consumption of the hens having the bluegrass range was less than that of the hens that had the bare range. Comparison of the findings for lots 2 and 3 shows a slight increase in number of eggs per hen for the lots on spring grass but no difference for the lots on summer grass. Differences in average weight of the eggs from lots 2 and 3 were small and not consistent. The confined hens, however, produced somewhat heavier eggs than the hens that had range, in both perfods. When the percent hatchabilities of the settings of eggs from the three lots were paired and the T-test applied, the results justified the conclusion that there were no significant differences in the hatchability of eggs in the three lots which were due to difference in treatment. During the summer period when the grass was matured and some of it brown, none of the hens in lot 3 were observed to eat it. Post-mortem examinations of hens in an adjoining bluegrass plot, killed for the purpose, failed to show any grass in
251
T .,
,.,.
A.
,
. .
..
i_
i
•
Dried skimmilk
8.0
the utilization of certain rations by laying hens. In Kentucky, bluegrass (Poa pratensis) usually begins to make good growth in late February or early March, as the weather permits, heads out in May, and the seed is ripe in June. If the grass is not grazed or cut, the seed stalks ripen, become straw colored, and fall; and the ground is covered with a mat of mature leaves, some of which may lose their green color. Little new growth appears until cool weather and fall rains come. If grazed or kept mowed, however, growth continues, provided rainfall is adequate. Fall growth usually is considerable, depending on the rainfall, but there is little or no growth from early December to late February. Drouth in late summer or fall may prevent growth for a month or two. The authors have found that laying hens confined in a laying battery ate 15 to 20 grams of fine-chopped succulent bluegrass per hen daily when it was kept fresh before them. These figures, however, are probably
Meat scrap 6.0 Salt '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'..'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. l!o Bonemeal 2^5 Cod liver oil concentrate 0.5 * S a m e a s t h a t fed lot l in Ky. Exp. Sta. Bull. 423.
* T h e investigation reported in this paper was in connection with a project of the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station and is published
^
with permission of the director.
low as compared with the quantity eaten by hens which have access to bluegrass pasture. In view of these findings it is important to know the value of bluegrass pasture as a supplement to a complete allmash ration for laying hens, at the time of the year when the grass is growing rapidly, and also of mature grass, after the period of rapid growth. With this in view 69 White Leghorn yearling hens from the Experiment Station flock were divided into three groups designated lots 1, 2, and 3, equalizing as nearly as possible the weights of the hens and egg records from the pullet year, which ineluded the number of eggs laid, their weight, and hatchability. Each group was put into a 12 by 12 foot laying house May 2, 1940, and fed all they would eat of the complete all-mash mixture shown in Table Chemica
l
. m a s h 1S
analysis
. 8lven
ln T a b l e
0f
a s a m p l e of t h i s , , 2 T w 0 COcks haVln 8
high fertilizing power were kept in each [248]
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at New York University on April 5, 2015
HE experiment reported herein comTABLE 1.—Ingredients of the mash fed.the hens* === pares bluegrass growing in April and n g r e ien ercen May with the mature grass, which has been undisturbed until June, as pasture for lay- Ground yellow corn 5.3.5 r r j ' i . i Ti • . <• Mixed wheat feed 21.0 ing hens fed a complete mash. It is part of Soybean oil meal 4.0 a study of the effect of bluegrass range on Alfalfa leaf meal 2.0
SPRING VERSUS MATURE BLUEGRASS AS PASTURE FOR LAYING HENS TABLE 2.—Chemical analysis of a sample of the mash fed the hens Percent Crude protein Ether extract Crude Nitrogen-free extract Ash Water
16.6 4.3 3.2 61.4 4.0 10.5
fiber
100.0 2.1 1.0 0.09
Percent nitrogen-free extract+2j percent ether extract, divided by percent protein
4.2
pen during the periods eggs were saved for hatching. The three lots were kept housed on the all-mash diet until June 25, 1940, when lot 3 was given free access to a 50 by 100 foot plot of bluegrass which had not been
cut or grazed that year but had been kept free of other vegetation than bluegrass. Lot 2 was given access to a plot of the same size which was kept bare of vegetation. Lot 1 continued in the house. The complete mash was kept before all lots continuously. When lot 3 was given access to pasture the bluegrass was 12 to 14 inches high, the ripened seed had fallen, the seed stalks and many blades had lost their green color, and very little new green grass was observed. This condition continued until the end of this period, July 25, 1940. At this time all the hens were returned to the general flock and housed with bluegrass range except in bad weather, until March 28, 1941, when they were confined in their houses again on the all-mash diet until April 17, 1941. Then lots 2 and 3 were again given access to the same bare and bluegrass plots as before,
TABLE 3.—Analyses of bluegrass from the plot on which the hens of lot 3 ranged (percent) 1941 spring growth
1940 mature grass June 25
July 7
July 19
Average
April 17
April 29
May 11
May 23
Average
In the fresh grass Crude protein Ether extract Crude fiber Nitrogen-free extract Crude ash
4.1 1.2 14.1 20.7 2.1
3.9 1.1 14.7 23.4 1.9
3.6 1.1 15.3 23.1 1.7
3.9 1.1 14.7 22.4 1.9
4.9 0.9 6.3 12.9 2.5
5.1 1.1 7.3 14.0 2.5
5.3 1.0 9.3 17.1 1-7
5.9 1.6 13.7 17.2 2.5
5.3 1.1 9.2 15.3 2.3
Total dry matter Water
42.2 57.8
45.0 55.0
44.8 55.2
44.0 56.0
27.5 72.5
30.0 70.0
34.4 65.6
40.9 59.1
33.2 66.8
Silica Calcium Phosphorus Calculated water-free Crude protein Ether extract Crude fiber Nitrogen-free extract Crude ash Silica Calcium Phosphorus
0.5 0.21 0.16 9.7 2.8 33.4 49.1 5.0
0.5 0.20 0.13 8.7 2.4 32.7 52.0 4.2
0.4 0.18 0.10 8.0 2.5 34.2 51.5 3.8
0.5 0.20 0.13 8.8 2.6 33.4 50.9 4.3
0.6 0.17 0.14 17.8 3.3 22.9 46.9 9.1
0.7 0.15 0.15 17.0 3.7 24.3 46.7 8.3
0.4 0.17 0.14 15.4 2.9 27.0 49.7 5.0
14.4 3.9 33.5 42.1 6.1
0.6 0.18 0.15 16.2 3.5 26.9 46.3 7.1
1.18 0.50 0.38
1.11 0.44 0.29
0.89 0.40 0.22
1.14 0.45 0.30
2.18 0.62 0.51
2.33 0.50 0.50
1.16 0.49 0.41
1.47 0.59 0.46
1.81 0.55 0.47
5.7
6.6
7.1
6.4
3.1
3.3
3.7
3.0
3 3
% N . F . E . + 2 J % Ether Ext. % Protein
0.6 0.24 0.19
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at New York University on April 5, 2015
Calcium Phosphorus Silica
249
250
G. DAVIS BUCKNER, W. M. INSKO. JR., AND AMANDA HARMS
TABLE 4.—Average egg production, hatchability, and amount of mash eaten when all the hens were confined to the house, on the all-mash diet, immediately before each experimental period 1940 May 22 to June 24
Eggs laid, average number per hen per six-day p"eriod Average egg weight, grams Hatchability, average percent of fertile eggs1 Mash eaten, average pounds per hen per day 1 2
Lot 1
Lot 2
Lot 3
Lotl
Lot 2
Lot 3
4.0 58.9 64.8 2 0.28
3.9 54.4 52.9 2 0.29
4.5 56.2 59.I 2 0.28
4.4 60.1 86.1 3 0.30
4.3 58.8 83.5 3 0.29
3.9 59.7 82.9 3 0.29
From hens that laid 12 or more fertile eggs during the experiment. Eggs of June 11 to 17, 1940. Eggs of April 4 to 10, 1941.
while lot 1 was kept housed. Nine hens had died between September, 1940, and March 28, 1941, so that lot 1 contained 22 hens, lot 2, 20, and lot 3, 18, during the second period of the experiment. At the beginning of this period, April 17, 1941, the old growth of grass had fallen over, forming a mat near the ground, and had weathered during the winter. The new growth of grass coming up through the old grass mat was green and three to four inches high. Until the end of this period, May 22, 1941, the growth was continuous, reached a height of about 10 inches, and the seed was forming. Table 3 gives chemical analyses of samples of bluegrass from the range of the hens in lot 3 obtained on the dates indicated.
It will be seen that the greatest differences in the analyses of the bluegrass on the area given to lot 3 during the summer period and during the spring period are the larger percentages of fiber and nitrogen-free extract in the summer grass and the larger percentages of water and protein in the spring grass. Table 4 gives egg production, hatchability, and the average amount of mash eaten by the hens in each lot while they were confined to the houses, before the experimental periods. Feed consumption per hen was practically the same in the three lots during each confinement period. Table S gives the corresponding data for the experimental periods during the summer and spring seasons when lots 2 and 3
TABLE 5.—Egg production, hatchability, and amount of mash eaten during each experimental period 1940 June 25 to July 24
Eggs laid, average number per hen per six-day period Average egg weight, grams Hatchability, average percent of fertile eggs1 Mash eaten, average pounds per hen per day 1 2 3
1941 April 17 to May 22
Lot 1 confined to house
Lot 2 bare range
Lot 3 bluegrass range, mature grass
Lotl confined to house
Lot 2 bare range
Lot 3 bluegrass range, spring growth
4.1 57.5 80.4 2 0.27
4.0 55.4 80.4 2 0.28
4.0 56.5 81.0 2 0.28
4.5 59.2 81.1* 0.27
4.0 56.3 79.4 3 0.25
4.4 56.0 85.8 3 0.21
From hens that laid 12 or more fertile eggs during the experiment. Eggs of June 24 to July 22, 1940. Eggs of April 17 to May 15, 1941.
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at New York University on April 5, 2015
3
1941 March 28 to April 17
SPRING VERSUS MATURE BLUEGRASS AS PASTURE FOR LAYING HENS
the crop or gizzard. During the spring grass-growing season hens in this lot were observed to eat the bluegrass freely and the crop and gizzard of hens in an adjoining plot contained undigested grass. Neither the health nor the average weights of the hens in the three lots were influenced by the treatment and conditions governing them during the experiment. SUMMARY
A study of the experimental data in this paper shows that bare or bluegrass range in connection with a complete all-mash ration for laying hens does not influence feed consumption during the summer period after the grass has matured and partly lost its green color. However, the hens consumed less mash when given access to a bare or bluegrass range during the spring growing season than when confined. Less mash was consumed on the bluegrass plot than on the bare plot during this season. The health and weight of the hens apparently were not influenced by a bluegrass range. Neither weight nor hatchability of eggs was influenced by the treatment the hens received during this experiment. Bluegrass pasture during its growing season increased egg production.
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at New York University on April 5, 2015
were given access to bare and bluegrass range, respectively. About the same quantity of mash was eaten by the hens of the three lots during the summer period but in the spring period, feed consumption in the two lots that had range was appreciably less than in the confined lot. The feed consumption of the hens having the bluegrass range was less than that of the hens that had the bare range. Comparison of the findings for lots 2 and 3 shows a slight increase in number of eggs per hen for the lots on spring grass but no difference for the lots on summer grass. Differences in average weight of the eggs from lots 2 and 3 were small and not consistent. The confined hens, however, produced somewhat heavier eggs than the hens that had range, in both perfods. When the percent hatchabilities of the settings of eggs from the three lots were paired and the T-test applied, the results justified the conclusion that there were no significant differences in the hatchability of eggs in the three lots which were due to difference in treatment. During the summer period when the grass was matured and some of it brown, none of the hens in lot 3 were observed to eat it. Post-mortem examinations of hens in an adjoining bluegrass plot, killed for the purpose, failed to show any grass in
251