Hatching Weight of Chicks from Hens Fed Different Protein Levels

Abstract

RESEARCHES on the protein requirements of growing chicks and the influence of the diet of the hen on egg size have been published by many workers but there is little information relative to the influence of diet on the size of chicks at hatching time.Byerly (1932) has presented evidence that the rate of growth of the chick embryo depends upon an inherent growth rate and suggests that it is probably identical for all breeds. He further suggests that this rate is modified during incubation in direct proportion to a function of egg size.Penquite and Thompson (1936) reported that embryos from high-protein-fed hens, between the seventh and seventeenth day of incubation, were heavier than the embryos from the low-protein-fed hens but a statistical analysis of the data for this period revealed that the differences were not significant.Titus, Byerly, and Ellis (1933), in a study of the various animal .