The Influence of Hen’s Diet on Growth of Progeny

The Effect of Hen Diet and Chick Diet on the Need of Chicks for an Unidentified Growth Factor

“…This would indicate that the growth of chicks is influenced to some extent by the diet fed the dams. This is in agreement with the results of Bethke, Pensack and Kennard (1947) who showed that mater- nal diet is definitely a factor in subsequent chick growth. They found that growth on a yellow corn-soybean oil meal diet was significantly greater in chicks from hens fed a soybean oil meal-fish meal diet than in chicks from hens fed an unsupplemented soybean oil meal diet.…”

“…Bethke, Pensack and Kennard (1947) noted that condensed fish solubles and fish meal contained a growth factor which is transmitted by the hen through the egg to her progeny. Rubin and Bird (1946a) found that cow manure contains an unidentified factor which caused an increase in growth of chicks when added to a corn-soybean oil meal diet.…”

The Effect of Fish Meal and Extracts of Fish Meal on Hatchability of Hens’ Eggs and Growth of Progeny

“…Further correlation is provided by the fact that chicks fed a diet deficient in the unidentified growth factor grew better if their dams were fed a diet containing the hatchability factor (Bethke, Pensack, and Kennard, 1947). SUMMARY Two experiments with hens showed that a diet of yellow corn, oats, wheat byproducts, dehydrated alfalfa meal, soybean oil meal (expeller), minerals, and adequate vitamin A, D, and riboflavin is deficient in a factor essential for good hatchability.…”

“…Previous results from this laboratory (Bethke, Pensack, and Kennard, 1947) showed that sardine fish meal and condensed fish solubles contained a growth factor (s) which is transmitted from the hen through the egg to the chick. Mc-Ginnis and Carver (1947) substantiated these observations and further indicated that a supplement of 4.6 percent fish meal to the soybean oil meal hen diet permitted storage in the egg of a sufficient amount of the unidentified factor (s) required for maximum chick growth to four weeks of age.…”

The Multiple Nature of the Deficiency of Unidentified Nutrients in Crude All-Vegetable Protein Chick Starter Rations

“…Two possible explanations were immediately apparent: different lots of the components of the basal diet might be highly variable in terms of the amounts of the unidentified nutrients which they contain; also, the sensitivity of the chicks to these nutrients could be modified by the nutritional history of the parent breeding flock. That the latter consideration is important for at least one of the unidentified nutrients has been adequately demonstrated (Rubin and Bird, 1946;Bethke, Pensack and Kennard, 1947;McGinnis and Carver, 1947). However, the chicks used in this work came from commercial breeding flocks, and presumably had appreciable stores of the unidentified factor(s) which are transmitted through the egg, as indicated by the negligible mortality obtained in groups fed the basal diet.…”