A STATISTICAL STUDY OF SQUAB PRODUCTION IN THE WHITE KING BREED '

By C. S. PLATT Associate poultry husbandman, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station INTRODUCTION

The production of squabs has never received very much attention in the field of agricultural research. Pigeons have been used for experimental purposes to determine nutritive requirements for maintenance and reproduction, but so far as the writer has been able to determine there are no records of the effect of various biological factors, such as egg production, fertility, hatchability, livability, squab weight, and number of squabs matured, upon total w^eight of squabs produced in a year by a pair of mated pigeons. The aim of the study herein reported was to establish these relationships in the White King breed.
MATERIALS AND METHODS

The records of the first 4 years, 1931 to 1934, of the New Jersey State pigeon breeding test were used as the source of the data. Only the White King records were used as this was the most popular breed and offered the most material. The pairs used in the study were entered by pigeon breeders from their home flocks. The birds were sent to the test plant on October 1 of each year and kept there for 51 weeks. Only the records of those that lived for the full period were used. Each entry consisted of five or six pairs, and was given an individual pen and fly. The feeding and management were uniform for all pens during any one year, although there was some change in the feeding from year to year. In computing egg production the number of eggs laid during the year was used. Fertility and hatchability were based upon the number of eggs observed, after deducting from the total laid those eggs that were in the nest at the close of the year. Livability of squabs was based upon the total number of squabs oflicially weighed after deducting those that were in the nest at the close of the year. All squabs 21 days old or older were weighed at the close of the year; during the year the weights were taken when the squabs were in marketable condition, that is, from 25 to 28 days of age.
STATISTICAL ANALYSES

Figure 1 shows the distribution of the 138 pairs of pigeons used. Judging by the comparison of the observed and normal curves, and also by a P value of 0.713 secured by the x^ test, it would seem that the population was representative of the breed under the conditions specified.
1 Received for publication Sept. 9, 1936; issued Feb. 1,1937. Journal Series paper of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Department of Poultry Husbandry. Journal of Agricultural Research, Washington, D. C. Vol. 54, no. 3 Feb. 1, 1937 Key no. N. J.-31

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Journal of Agricultural Research

Vol. 54, no. 3

The mean annual production of 225.903.57 ounces of squabs (table 1) is of particular interest because of its similarity to the mean annual Qgg production of White Leghorn pullets that lived a year in the Hunterdon County egg-laying test of 1933-34, the latter figure being 216.261.63 eggs (impublished data). The coefficient of variation in the ounces of squabs produced was 27.50 1.22 percent as compared with a coefficient of 23.49 0.58 percent in egg production
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FIGURE

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175 200 225 250 275 300 WEIGHT (OUNCES)

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1.Distribution of pairs of White King pigeons according to ounces of squabs produced annually: a, Observed frequencies; >, normal curve.

of the White Leghorn pullets. The two species show a close similarity in the production of their marketable products when one is measured in ounces and the other in eggs.
TABLE

1.Statistical measurements of annual squab production 'per pair of White King pigeons
Item Mean ounces.- 225.90db3.57 number-- 11.49 .18 percent- 85.21 .61 do 89.70 .60 number 16.85 . 17 percent 94.16d= .32 ounfifis 19.62 . 10 Standard deviation 62.132.52 3.10d= . 13 10.67it .43 10.40 .42 2.98 . 12 5.60 .23 1.81d= .07 Coefficient of variation 27.50dbl.22 26.981.89 12.52 .62 11 60db 48 17.69 . 74 5.95d= .25 9 22db .38

Total production Qive weight) Total squabs __. Fertility Livabity of squabs Eggs laid Hatchability of fertile eggs Averaee sauab weight

The relative effect of the factors studied upon the total number of ounces of squabs produced in a year can be secured by observing the coefficients of correlation shown in the following tabulation. A very high relationship existed between the number of squabs and the total weight of squabs matured by a pair of pigeons, the correlation coefficient being 0.9512 0.0055. The fertility of the eggs was next in importance with livability of squabs almost of equal value in its relationship to total weight of mature squabs.

Feb. 1,1937

Study of Squab Production in White King Breed

237

Coefficients of correlation between total weight of squahs produced annually and certain observed factors Coefficient of correlation Total number of squabs 0. 95120. 0055 Percent fertmty of eggs . 5874 . 0476 Percent livability of squabs . 5002 . 0431 Egg production per pair . 2877 . 0526 Percent hatchability of fertile eggs . 1470 . 0562 Average squab weight . 0010 . 0568

Egg production and hatchability both showed a positive correlation but not so high a one as the other factors mentioned. Average squab weight did not bear any relation to total weight of squabs produced, the coefcient of correlation being 0.0010 0.0568. SUMMARY Data on the total number of eggs laid annually, the percent fertility of the eggs, the percent hatchabity of the fertile eggs, the percent livability of the squabs, the total number of squabs reared, the average squab weight, and the total ounces of squabs produced annually were secured from 138 pairs of White King pigeons entered in the New Jersey State pigeon breeding tests. Statistical measurements of each factor were obtained, as were also the coefficients of correlation respectively between egg production, fertility, hatchability, livability, average squab weight, total number of squabs, and total ounces of squabs produced annually. The mean annual weight of squabs per pair of pigeons that survived a year was 225.903.57 ounces, a figure comparable to the mean annual egg production of White Leghorn pullets that survived a year in the Hunterdon County egg-laying test, 216.26 1.63 eggs. The highest correlation coefficient, 0.9512 0.0055, was between the total number and total weight of squabs produced annually. Percentage fertility of eggs showed the next highest relationship to total weight of squabs produced, the correlation coefficient being 0.5874 0.0476, while the average weight of squabs per pair of pigeons showed the least, which was indicated by a correlation coefficient of 0.00100.0568.

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1937

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