Environment and Poultry Breeding Problems.

Abstract

IN THE last decade there has been a remarkable increase in the number of laying hens kept in laying cages on the North American continent, particularly in the southern states and the west coast of the United States and Canada. Birds of the White Leghorn breed are very commonly used in these “cage plants.” Although there are little or no controlled experimental data in the literature as to whether one breed or strain within a breed is more adaptable than another to laying cage conditions, commercial egg producers on this continent have found that Leghorns and Leghorn crosses on the average do better than the heavier breeds of fowl and S.C. White Leghorns are now widely used in laying cage plants. There is no published information as to whether strains of S.C. White Leghorns differ in their ability to adapt to cage conditions. An opportunity presented itself in the fall …