A study of fecundity in the domestic fowl: the behaviour of persistency in individual hens

Abstract

1. Individual birds have a characteristic date for the termination of the egg laying cycle.2. The date of cessation of production at the end of the pullet year is not a reliable indication of the bird's potentiality in this respect.3. The longer the birds are retained the greater is the chance of distinguishing the true date.4. Individual dates for the termination of the cycle occur at so many points throughout the total range (from July to December) that this must either indicate a multiple factor situation or that the genes involved show a considerable range of expression.