Some Observations on Humidity and Weight Loss in the Incubation of Turkey Eggs

1. Turkey eggs which are incubated under chicken hens lose from 11 to 13 per cent of their original weight during the first 24 days of incubation. Small turkey eggs lose relatively more weight than large eggs incubated under the same conditions. 2. Considerable variation was observed in the weight loss during the first 24 days of incubation of eggs of approximately the same size when incubated in the same environment. The range was from 7 to 24 per cent of the original weight. Differences in shell texture may account for these variations, although care was taken to select only apparently normal eggs with good texture for these experiments. 3. Variations in the weight loss during incubation within the limits of our observations as herein reported apparently have no significant correlation with the growth rate during the first eight weeks of the life of the poult. 4. Rate of air movement and humidity as environmental factors apparently influence hatchability more during the last four days than during the first twenty-four days of the incubation period. 5. It is probable that for turkey eggs cabinet incubators require conditions during the last four days of the hatch that are somewhat different from those which have proved satisfactory for hatching chicken eggs

Some Observations on Humidity and Weight Loss in the Incubation of Turkey Eggs

1. Turkey eggs which are incubated under chicken hens lose from 11 to 13 per cent of their original weight during the first 24 days of incubation. Small turkey eggs lose relatively more weight than large eggs incubated under the same conditions. 2. Considerable variation was observed in the weight loss during the first 24 days of incubation of eggs of approximately the same size when incubated in the same environment. The range was from 7 to 24 per cent of the original weight. Differences in shell texture may account for these variations, although care was taken to select only apparently normal eggs with good texture for these experiments. 3. Variations in the weight loss during incubation within the limits of our observations as herein reported apparently have no significant correlation with the growth rate during the first eight weeks of the life of the poult. 4. Rate of air movement and humidity as environmental factors apparently influence hatchability more during the last four days than during the first twenty-four days of the incubation period. 5. It is probable that for turkey eggs cabinet incubators require conditions during the last four days of the hatch that are somewhat different from those which have proved satisfactory for hatching chicken eggs

The Utilization of Food Elements by Growing Chicks. IX. The Nitrogen of Urea

1. The effect of replacing one-third of the concentrate of a ration for growing chicks with a mixture of starch and urea that contained an amount of nitrogen equal to that contained in the concentrate withdrawn from the ration was studied with two lots of chicks. 2. All chicks of both lots consumed equal amounts of nitrogen during the experiment. 3. Conclusions were based on increases in body weight and content of nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus at slaughter

The Utilization of Food Elements by Growing Chicks. XI. A Comparison of Ground Wheat and Ground Rye in Rations for Growing Chicks

1. The effect of replacing the shorts and bran of a standard ration by ground wheat or ground rye was studied with two lots of newly hatched chicks. 2. Comparisons were made on the basis of equal intakes of dry matter and nitrogen by all chicks. 3. The wheat-fed lot made a significantly greater gain than the rye-fed lot. 4. Several cases of curled-toe paralysis occurred in the two lots, and a tendency to cannibalism appeared in the rye-fed lot

Trypsin Inhibitor. VII. Comparative Nutritive Value of Raw and Heated Soybean Meal for Poults

I. The trypsin inhibitor contained in one-half of a lot of soybean meal was destroyed by autoclaving at 15 pounds for 20 minutes. 2. This portion of the meal when fed at a level of 24 per cent to newly hatched poults gave a significantly greater gain in five weeks than did an equal amount of meal in which the inhibitor had not been destroyed. 3. The difference in growth is attributed to the destruction of the trypsin inhibitor

The Utilization of Food Elements by Growing Chicks. V. A Comparison of Cottonseed Meal and Linseed Oil Meal as Portions of the Protein Concentrate

1. Two lots of newly hatched chicks were fed rations differing only in five per cent of their make-up. In the ration of one lot five parts of linseed oil meal were added to 95 parts of the base, and in the other ration a mixture of 4.5 parts of cottonseed meal and 0.5 part of starch was added, to keep the protein level the same. The remaining portions of the two concentrates were made up of five parts each of meat scraps and fish meal. 2. The amounts of feed consumed by all chicks of both lots were kept identical by hand feeding all chicks equal amounts daily. 3. The compositions of the chicks at the end of six weeks\u27 feeding trial were determined, and the compositions of the gains calculated. 4. The lot fed cottonseed meal made slightly better gains per unit of feed and nitrogen fed. 5. The retention of nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus was slightly higher for the lot fed cottonseed meal

The Utilization of Food Elements by Growing Chicks. IV. Meat Meal and Fish Meal Compared with Meat Meal, Fish Meal, and Soybean Meal as Protein Concentrates

1. Two groups of 15 newly hatched chicks were fed rations differing in the composition of the protein concentrates. One lot received ration 2MFX, in which the concentrate was a mixture of meat meal and fish meal. In ration 3MFSX one-third of the meat and fish meals was replaced by soybean meal. The protein levels of the concentrates and of the rations as fed, were identical. 2. The composition of the chicks at the end of the feeding trial was determined, and the composition of the gains calculated. 3. The gain in live weight per gram of nitrogen or dry matter fed was practically identical in the two lots. 4. The retention of nitrogen by the chicks of the two lots was not significantly different. 5. The variation within lots was as great as that between lots; hence the slight variations in the retention of calcium and phosphorus were not judged significant

The Utilization of Food Elements by Growing Chicks. VII. A Comparison of Corn and Kalo in a Ration for Growing Chicks

1. The effect of replacing 31 per cent of ground corn in a ration by 31 per cent of ground kalo was studied in a growth and body-analysis experiment with two lots of newly hatched chicks. 2. The amounts of feed consumed by all chicks of both lots were kept identical by hand-feeding equal amounts of the pelleted rations daily. 3. There were no significant differences in the growth rate or composition of the chicks at the end of a six weeks\u27 feeding trial

The Utilization of Food Elements by Growing Chicks. I. A Comparison of Protein Concentrates from Animal and Vegetable Sources

1. The effects of adding to a basal ration, protein concentrates from animal and vegetable sources were studied by means of growth and body-analysis experiments. 2. There was a small increase in the nitrogen content of the chicks fed the animal protein concentrate, but no differences appeared between lots with respect to their content of calcium and phosphorus. 3. The percentage rate of gain and the gain per gram of nitrogen fed were greater in the lot fed the animal protein concentrate. 4. The lot fed the animal protein concentrate retained more of the nitrogen fed, but less of the calcium and phosphorus fed than did the lot fed vegetable protein concentrate

The Effect of Variation in the Calcium-to-Phosphorus Ratio on the Utilization of Nitrogen, Calcium, and Phosphorus by the Growing Chick

1. Three groups totaling 123 chicks were fed accurately known amounts of rations containing 0.9, 1.5, and 2.3 per cent of calcium with liberal provision of the antirachitic factor so that conditions for assimilation and deposition were favorable. 2. By means of the comparative slaughter test the retention of ingested nitrogen was found to be about 37 per cent, and that of phosphorus about 28 per cent in the three lots. 3. With 0.9 per cent calcium in the ration, 35 per cent of that ingested was retained; at a level of 1.5 per cent calcium, 24 per cent was retained, while with 2.3 per cent of calcium ingested but 13 per cent was retained