Daily Rhythm of Egg Production in Turkeys

THE data published by Hutt and Pilkey (1930), Funk (1934), Funk and Kempster (1934), Hays (1937), and Pritsker (1940) show clearly what has long been recognized, that chicken hens lay more eggs in the morning than in the afternoon. This paper presents data on the time of day that turkey hens lay their eggs. MATERIALS AND METHODS Trapnest records of the turkey hens of the Division of Poultry Husbandry, University of California at Davis furnished the data for this study. The data are for the five years 1934 to 1938 inclusive, with those for 1936 and 1937 being most complete, since in the spring of those two years the trapnests were visited at approximately hourly intervals. Since trapping was not continuous, the distributions on an hourly basis may not be as smooth as if it had been possible to record egg production at a few minute intervals throughout the day. . . .