Variability of Seasonal Scratch Grain Consumption Observed in Leghorns

In a previous report of investigations concerning consumption of scratch grain in the egg laying contests in New Jersey, 2 Ralston R. Hannas has expressed the opinion that experience in contest feeding indicates that in general practice, even with heavy feeding of grain in the early fall, sufficient amounts have not been fed to keep the birds in good condition so they will hold up in production during the summer. Evidence presented in this paper throws additional light upon the importance of heavy grain feeding during the four winter months, November–February, in comparison with the spring and summer-fall periods. The following table summarizes the data for the three seasons investigated : November–February March–June July–October Winter Spring Summer-Fall Mean production Eggs per bird weekly 2.20 4.57 3.06 Eggs per 100 birds daily 31.43 65.28 43.71 Mean Scratch Grain Consumption Pounds per bird weekly .80 .70 .46 Pounds per 100 birds daily 11.43 10.00 6.57