Effect of Environment on Growth and Feed and Water Consumption of Chickens III. The Effect of Temperature of Environment during the Period from 18 to 32 Days of Age: Two Figures

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Abstract
Chickens were housed in a controlled environment without a hover for the first 32 days after hatch to determine the optimum temperature for growth and efficiency of feed utilization from the 18th to the 32nd day. Thirty chickens were used for each experiment and a total of 31 experiments was performed. Equipment, feed formula and routine of procedure were the same as for the work reported in previous papers by the authors ('47, '49). The temperature during the first 18 days was that found to be optimum as reported in the first two papers: i.e., it was 94° to 95°F. at the start and then dropped uniformly to 80°F. on the 18th day. For the period from the 18th to the 32nd day the temperature was varied with different lots of chickens from 80°F. on the 18th day to from 76° to 55°F. on the 32nd day. Maximum growth from the 18th to the 32nd day was found when the temperature dropped uniformly from 80°F. on the 18th day to 66°F. on the 32nd day. The growth became less as the temperature varied either way from that noted for maximum growth, and the greater the variation the greater the decrease. The efficiency of feed utilization dropped from a value of 0.49 on the 18th day to 0.38 on the 32nd day. The water drunk was approximately 1.75 gm for every gram of feed eaten. It was decided to discontinue research on temperature at this point, as the critical phase relative to temperature has been covered.

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