During the first week the carbonaceous fed hens laid three eggs while
the others laid two. The two groups were, therefore, practically
evenly divided at the start as to the condition of the laying stage.
At the end of the first period the nitrogenous fed hens had laid
forty-three eggs and the carbonaceous fed hens had laid twenty. During
the next twenty-five days the former laid thirty and the latter six;
during the third period the former laid six and the latter not any.
From this time on no eggs were received from either group. The decline
in egg production was probably due in large part to the fact that the
hens began to moult during the second period, and continued to do so
during the rest of the experiment.
The eggs laid by the nitrogenous fed hens were of small size, having a
disagreeable flavor and smell, watery albumen, an especially small,
dark colored yolk, with a tender vitelline membrane, which turned
black after being kept several weeks. While the eggs of the
carbonaceous fed hens were large, of fine flavor, of natural smell,
large normal albumen, an especially large, rich yellow yolk, with
strong vitelline membrane, which was perfectly preserved after being
kept for weeks in the same brine with the other eggs.
TOTAL FOOD CONSUMED DURING EXPERIMENT.
_____________________________________________________________________
Lot. I.--Nitrogenous. | Lot. II.--Carbonaceous.
_________________________________|___________________________________
| | | | |
| Hens. |*Chicks| | Hens. |Chicks.
|_______|_______| |_______|________
| lb. | lb. | | lb. | lb.
Bran. | 29.90 | 21.85 | Maize. | 82.15 | 51.30
Shorts. | 29.90 | 21.85 | Green clover. | 18.75 | 18.75
Cotton seed meal.| 21.48 | 13.24 | Cabbage. | 16.00 | 16.00
Linseed meal. | 8.43 | 8.61 | Wheat | 15.63 | 11.71
Skimmed milk. |105.49 | 61.33 | | |
Wheat. | 15.63 | 11.71 | | |
Green clover. | 18.75 | 18.75 | | |
Cabbage. | 16.00 | 16.00 | | |
_________________|_______|_______|__________________|_______|________
Total. |245.58 |173.34 | Total. |132.53 | 92.76
Nutritive ratio.| 1:3.1 | 1:3 | Nutritive ratio. | 1:7.8 | 1:8
_________________|_______|_______|__________________|_______|________
* Calculated for five chicks, based upon the amount eaten by the three
after the two sick were removed.
EGGS LAID AND GAIN IN WEIGHT--HENS.
____________________________________________________________________
| |
| Lot I. | Lot II.
| Nitrogenous. | Carbonaceous.
|______________|________________
| |
Live weight, July 26. | 23.53 | 23.56
" " November 27. | 21.31 | 22.00
Loss. | 2.22 | 1.56
Number of eggs laid. | 79.00 | 26.00
Weight " " " lb. | 8.25 | 2.92
Average weight of eggs, oz. | 1.67 | 1.80
Gain in weight, including eggs, lb. | 6.03 | 1.36
____________________________________|______________|________________
GAIN IN LIVE WEIGHT--CHICKENS.
____________________________________________________________________
| |
| Lot I. | Lot II.
| Nitrogenous. | Carbonaceous.
|______________|________________
| |
Live weight, July 26. | 8.94 | 9.06
" " November 27. | 17.89 | 12.63
Gain, lb. | 8.95 | 3.57
" per cent. | 100.11 | 39.40
____________________________________|______________|________________
Samples of the eggs from each lot of fowls were privately marked and
sold to a boarding house where the cook did not know that the eggs
were undergoing a test. On meeting the cook several days later the
following words were heard: "Do you expect me to cook such eggs as
these! About every other one is spoiled." On examination of the
ovaries after slaughtering, it was found that in the case of one of
the carbonaceous fed hens the ovules were in a more advanced stage,
but on the whole the nitrogenous fed hens were much nearer the laying
period. With this single exception, the clusters of ovules in the
carbonaceous fed hens were uniformly small. Neither group would have
laid under any probability for several weeks. It would seem from these
facts, together with the fact that during the experiment the
nitrogenous fed hens laid more than three times as many eggs, that a
nitrogenous ration stimulates egg production.