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ALTHOUGH numerous studies concerned with photoperiodism on the sexual development of female chickens have been reported, most of them have involved Leghorn type birds and have been limited to the influence of lights during the rearing period. Also, most studies have limited light restriction to 6 or 8 hours although Rider (1938) and King (1961, 1962) reported pullets reared in darkness would come into egg production. Parker and McCluskey (1961) reported onset of semen production in cockerels on as little as a 1 hour single light period per day. This study involved heavy breed pullets reared and maintained on light periods as short as 1 hour per day. MATERIALS AND METHODS Chicks used in this experiment consisted of 21 Delaware pullets per treatment hatched November 11, 1961, from a flock maintained at the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station. They were reared from time of hatch on 1, 3, 9 and 13…

POULTRY producers use a variety of feed space allowances for their chicks during the brooding period and different recommendations may be found in publications. A standard recommendation frequently given is that of the Nutrition Council of the American Feed Manufacturers Association which allows the following feeder spaces: 0–2 weeks of age—1” per chick 3–6 weeks of age—1¾” per chick 7–12 weeks of age—3” per chick Additional space during warm weather A search of the literature reveals a number of reports on feeder space studies with laying stock but a relative scarcity of feeder space studies with chicks. Lanson et al. (1956) reporting a study comparing types of feeders in which different amounts of feeder space were used indicated that feeders and spaces as reported did not influence growth. Krueger et al. (1957) reported that broiler birds provided 3 linear inches of feeder space per . . .

MOST the research reported on photoperiodism as related to avian reproduction has been concerned either with testis changes in wild birds or with egg production in domestic fowl. The male domestic fowl has received relatively little attention. The effects of varying the length of daily light periods on spermatogenesis and changes in testis size have been reviewed by numerous investigators including Lamoreux (1943a), Amoroso and Marshall (1960) and Romanoff (1960). Lamoreux also reported results of experiments showing the effect of the amount of daily light on semen production in White Leghorn and concluded that 12 hours or more of daily light were required to effectively stimulate semen production. He did not determine the effect of daily light periods on the fertilizing capacity of semen produced. Bonadonna and Pozzi (1955) observed that cocks “steadily kept in the dark,” as well as males kept under continuous illumination, produced smaller semen volumes than…

IT IS the purpose of this paper to report our findings on the use of supplementary methionine, grit and stabilized animal fat in improving the efficacy of barley in broiler rations. Considerable data are available on the comparative value of barley versus wheat or corn in chick rations. The earlier literature on this subject has been reviewed by Crampton (1936). In summary of these early observations and findings concerning the use of barley in chick rations, it would appear that barley, corn and wheat can be used interchangeably provided vitamin A is added to the diets containing barley or wheat. Little information is available, however, regarding the use of barley in high-efficiency broiler rations. On the basis of the productive energy values of Fraps (1946), barley is given a value of approximately 70% that of corn. Bearse (1952) has indicated that barley can replace up to 50% of the corn …

THE possibility that light intensity affects laying hens has been recognized for many years. Fairbanks (1924) determined that from 0.8 to 1.0 foot candle (f.c.) of light was necessary on the floor for hens to actively feed. Roberts and Carver (1941) and Dobie et al. (1946) found that if hens had 13 hours of light per day, varying light intensity from 1.0 to 31.3 f.c. had no effect on egg production; and Nicholas et al. (1944) observed no effects due to varying intensities from 0.5 to 38.0 f.c. on the floor with 0 to 27 f.c. on the roosting perches. Ostrander et al. (1960) reported no advantage from supplying high intensity light in pens of laying hens. Platt (1953) found that supplementing natural light with 4 hours of dim red light stimulated winter egg production and that using 8 hours of supplemental dim red light stimulated maximum production. Morris and…

TO DETERMINE if maintaining chicken breeding males in wire cages had any influence on their semen production and the fertilizing capacity of the semen an experiment was commenced at the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station in December, 1957. A group of 17 Delaware cockerels hatched in March, 1957, which had been reared in confinement in a 16′X16′ pen of a multiple-pen brooder house, were available for the experiment. On December 5 and 12 semen was collected from the first 16 of these males by the technique described by Burrows and Quinn (1939). The cockerels, numbered 1511 to 1527, were divided into two groups on December 14, the eight even numbered males being put into two 28×36 inch cages in a steel fattening battery. Four males were put in each cage. The battery was located in another pen of the brooder house similar to the one in which the cockerels were raised… .

(1967). Poultry Progress in Nigeria. World's Poultry Science Journal: Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 234-236.

REVIEWS of the literature concerning testicular response of birds to photostimulation have been written by Lamoreux (1943a), Romanoff (1960) and Amoroso and Marshall (1960). Lamoreux also reported results showing that semen production and testis size in Leghorn cockerels were related to the length of the daily light period. Recently, Parker and McCluskey (1964) showed that sexually mature male fowls produce satisfactory volumes of potent semen under as little as 1 hour of daily light exposure. The purpose of the investigations reported herein was to determine the effect of rearing cockerels under daily light exposures ranging from 1 to 13 hours on ages at which semen was first produced, and on their subsequent fertilizing capacity in natural matings. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Four groups of Delaware chicks hatched in November, 1960, were reared from time of hatching under four regimes of 1, 3, 9 and 13 hours of daily light. There was no…

From time to time poultry producers inquire about the cause of a peculiar eye abnormality in young chickens in which the eye appears enlarged and elongated. This condition has been described by Lauber et al. (1961) and was produced by exposing young chicks to continuous incandescent light of 3-foot candle intensity at bird level. Because poultry producers sometimes use various forms of infrared heat lamp equipment, it was desirable to determine if such equipment would cause development of the abnormal eye condition. An experiment was conducted to determine what effect light from two kinds of heat lamps as compared to light from incandescent lamps had upon chicks. Quadruplicate pens of broiler cross chicks 1 equally divided for sex received light as follows: (1) 250 watt infrared heat lamps of red glass—24 hrs.; (2) 250 watt infrared heat lamps of white glass—24 hrs.; (3) 60 watt incandescent lamps—24 hrs.; …

In order to compare the effect of water space upon chick growth and feed efficiency, two trails have been conducted at the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station. The first trial involved seven pens with 250 New Hampshire chicks with equal numbers of each sex per pen. The second trial involved eight groups of 150 Crossbred broiler chicks with equal numbers of male and female chicks in each pen. Trial 1 was conducted during the winter months and Trial 2 was carried out during the summer season. In Trial 1, the watering equipment in six pens consisted of “V” shaped metal troughs with a constant flow of water. The water space allowances were .22, .43 and .77 inch per chick in duplicate pens. The seventh pen contained a circular pan type waterer that furnished .22 inch of space per chick. In one-half of the pens using the “V” troughs, the waterer was . . .

A number of workers have reported on the practice of dubbing White Leghorn pullets. A majority of such reports have indicated some benefit from dubbing during the colder season of the year. Davis et al. (1953) reported approximately 20 percent greater production with dubbed birds at the Wyoming Station without a corresponding increase in feed consumption. Jones and Kohlmeyer (1950) reported better performance from dubbed birds during periods of cold weather but little difference in total annual egg production. Cole and Hutt (1954) reported no statistical difference in egg production between dubbed and control groups as measured by annual production but they indicated that a difference in favor of dubbed lots was present between treatments during cold weather. Since most of the work reported has been concerned with birds housed in floor pens and the response to dubbing associated with cold weather, the value of dubbing pullets housed in open …