A Method of Measuring Pulse Rate of Domestic Fowl*

THE pulse rate of mature domestic fowls is normally so rapid that special methods are needed for the purpose of counting the heart beats. Winchester (1940) reported that the heart of the New Hamp-shire breed of fowls, during complete rest, beats at the rate of 195 pulsations per minute. Buchanan (1910) reported a rate for the fowl at rest of 330 beats per minute. McNally (1940) reported a rate of 282 beats per minute. Some of the variability in pulse rates reported may be the result of different methods of handling the fowls during the process of counting brought about in part by the type of equipment used. It is well known that fowls are easily excited, and in an excited condition the pulse rate is accelerated to a rate impossible to count with even the best auditory-manual meth-ods. The heart of the fowl is small, and it is difficult to hear the beats with an ordinary unamplified stethoscope. It is probably important to determine the pulse beat under "normal conditions" but just what normal conditions are for the domestic fowl is a matter of opinion. Management conditions vary from combina-tions of free range and housing in colony pens to complete confinement in individual cages. It is important, therefore, for in-vestigators to report the management con-ditions prior to and during which hear