The Effect of the Diet of the Hen on the Iron and Copper Content of the Egg.*

The total iron content of an egg of average size is about 0.8 to 1.0 mg. of Fe. Both the poultryman and the consumer are interested in the possibility of increasing the amount of iron above this figure. The poultryman is devoting his efforts to the production of eggs which contain the maximum amounts of the essential elements and compounds needed for the development of strong and sturdy chicks. Much work has been done on the variations in the amounts of the organic entities in eggs, but the variation in the amounts of the minor inorganic elements has been given but little attention. Upon investigating the iron present in the egg and the chick, it is found that the margin between the amount present in the egg and the quantity needed to produce the hemoglobin in the chick is very small. The iron content of a day old chick, determined by actual analysis or by calculation of the amount in the hemoglobin of a newly born chick, is between 0.6 and 0.7 mg. These figures show that very little iron can be wasted during the development of the egg into the chick and that the chick has practically no store