The Water Consumption of Hens

FEW data are available on the water consumption of hens. However, information on this subject is of interest from the standpoint of comparative physiology and of value from the standpoint of poultry management. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to place on record some data obtained at the Southwest Poultry Experiment Station, Glendale, Arizona, in an experiment for ascertaining the effects of air temperature, live weight, and egg production on the water consumption of hens. PROCEDURE Two similar groups of 26 White Leghorn hens each and two similar groups of 21 Rhode Island Red hens each were used in the experiment, which was started on November 1, 1934, and ended on October 31, 1935. The hens were confined to the same house in adjacent pens, each of which had 400 square feet of floor space. Air temperatures were taken on a recording thermometer. The averages shown in the second . . .