Show breeding stock for next springe 8 pring s ghicks by G E conkey ti ciuc ue it is still several months be fore the average poultry owner wants to hatch any chicks but if 3 ou would hive h t e ioui out fluffy little fellows strong healthy and vigorous you must begin selecting your breeding beeding stock now DOW upon tho the wisdom of this selection depends not only the general health ind sumina of 3 our chicks but to a laige extent their size future habits ind breeding qualities this mai not have occurred to you as many people have never stopped to anale analyze ze the importance of hatching the eggs ot nt only such hens bens as have been carefully selected for breeding purposes Ilo however wever I 1 am sure that as you read the rest of this article ou will realize alize that fully one half of the average flock is wholly unfit for breeding purposes and that the proper selection of Lre breeding eding birds is a very im important hawx matt r Ms it is the cry lery importance of this particular phase ot poultry raising th thit it to me makes it so wonderfully interesting it is hard to imagine anything ny thing more fascinating than to pick out certain parent birds with the aika of reproducing certain qualities in the offspring and then eagerly waiting to see whether the results will show the soundness or inexperience Inex perl of ones judgment you too will enjoy this part of poultry raising I 1 am euro sure and iou 3 ou do 10 not ha asne e to watt wait to demonstrate i our ability to select good breeding birds for tho third selection of breeding stock should begin immediately it ts Is best to have the breedin breeding birds in their own shortly after january 1st and when they have once livi mated ted they must be keat entirely damte ep arate from the rest of the flock that means too that you must have ean tean dry quarters ready to receive them in selecting breeding bird your 1 aim should be to take only those thit will be mos most likely to give you all around good chicks chalks chii ks that will possess rugged health and sta mina that will mature in reasonable time th that lt will make rood good aaers and that will possess good qualities in in general this makes it necessary for you to watch your flock very closely each day and pick out only those hens that are strongest most health and vigorous it is also desirable to choose hens that 3 ou know are good layers or that show indications of being good haefs as they will bo be most likely to produce that will willma ma ture into good lasers heavy laying hens are very active are off the roosts early in the morning and on lute 1 te in the evening and are big eaters flo however wever do 0 o not forget that hens that have been laying regularly are likely to be run down and should not bo be used use for breeding purposes until they have been put in good condition by getting gettin a good tonic along with ther their feed no hen ben should be selected as a breeder that Is is known to be a poor peor layer the best breeding hens seem to be those that are about two years old three year old hens bens are also 90 good wa if it Is necess necessity iry to use pul let 11 g only those that aro are fully ma aured should be chosen several un I 1 I 1 desirable reil its ts are likely to follow i the use of pullets gullets as bt bleeders eders of ten many of tho the eggs are unfertile because the birds lave really not reached maturity many of the chicks are small and weak and the chicks do not mature into full size birds I 1 even worse than the use of pullets 13 is the ube of birds possessing defects or crooked bones it should always be remembered that like begets like and that at least part of the tha offspring of such nuch birds arta almost mant sure to be deformed or show the defeet defect in even a more marked degree than the parent when beas two or f hrc breis years old are selected for breeding purposes they thoy should be mated to a well matured cockerel experiments have proven that such mating as a rule produces the most desirable chicks T A How however evor if pullets mint must bo be used it is better to mate them to an old male in AN eithel case you should give just a at much attention to the health and appearance of the male bird as to that of the hens hen and if possible se lect elect a malo male that you know comes conies from a good jabina strain the male is really half halt the flock and has an even greater influence over the lading qualities of the offspring than the female A male bird should not be mated to more than ten or twelve hens liens some laisers misers of the lighter breeds of poultry often place a larger number of hens with eack male niale but for allaround best be results it is not advis 7 able careful selection and mating such as outlined id Is sura to produce chicks that will bo be a credit to any owner besides I 1 feel sure that if you try it you will feel repaid by the single in te sting resting of picking out the choicest breeders from among the poor layers drones under sized and unhealthy birds |