OCR Text |
Show FOWLS FOR EGG PRODUCTION Good, Strong, Vigorous Birds Are R. quired and Should Not Lay Many Eggs In Pullet Year. Good, strong, vigorous birds ore es- tentlal for egg production. The aim-pie aim-pie fact that a hen him liild 200 or more eggs In her pullet year Im not sufficient to warrant her being used ns a breeder. I have seen a number of 200-fgg hena, with lung, narrow Single Comb White Leghorn. heads and sunken eyes, which Indicate low vitality, and, moreover, have tested a number of them as breeders, and have yet to aee one that waa worth while breeding from, Judging from the performance and living powers of her offspring, says a writer In an exchange. ex-change. A hen U3ed for breeding, especially for the producer of males to heud the breeding pens the next season, should not only be expected to lay a large number of eggs per year, but these eggs should be high In hatching power and the chicks should live, and, furthermore, furth-ermore, they should develop Into good-sized good-sized birds quickly and the pullets RhoUd lay well. Perhaps It might be well to give here the method that Is used by ub In breeding from selected layers. The hen Is required to bo a good winter layer and to lay at least 150 eggs In her pullet yenr. The next requirement re-quirement Is that her eggs hatch well that Is, It Is expected that over 80 per cent, of the eggs will be fertile and 90 per cent, of the fertile eggs will hatch. It Is then required that 90 per cent, of the chicks will live to five months of age and that the cockrels at I thinge bo well developed and. weiJi , k If from general purpose breeds at least six pounds each, and, finally, that the pullets be good Inyers. If the pul lets lay well during the fall, then I consider holding their brothers as breeders. We try as far as possible to test the males along similar lines, as to producers of plenty of strong pullets and lay well. There Is. probably prob-ably as much difference between males as there Is between females. |