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Show r" - " The Standard s I. A. C. Bureau Articles of Interest to Farmers, Housekeepers and Others Written for The Standard by Experts at Utah's Noted Agricultural College at Logan .Tutlgmi; Hens for I'gg Production By BI N MOORE Poultry Husnanilman, t nlverslty "f Idaho Lxtonslon Division The farmers of Idaho are rapidly t learning that th:-n- Is a vast dlffcreno I in the producing abilities of hens and 'that judging foi egg production Is no I longer an experiment. The lime was. and not so many years ago, when people had the idea that one cow was as good as another, I and that It was only a matter of teed ami care to make one cow produce as i well afl another. T'ie use of the Bab-cock Bab-cock tesl and s.ale has taught us that (some COWS f;ie lv nature high producers pro-ducers and that a profit unnot be fed out of other cows. There are many people today who have the idea that one hen Is as good 'as another, but the trap nest has taught lis that some hens are high producers u.u some are )ovv producers. The trap nest has taught us, also, that there are those hens, and muny of the m, that never lay The trap :i fSt has taught us the characteristics of the laying hen so that with practice, anyone can cull out his unprof Itahle hens. The proper application of this knowledge makes it possible to cull tho flock at any lime.; It is true that, hy Judging hens fori egg production from the signs of the 1 tying hen, it may not be possible to tell guile as well how many eggs a hen will lay before she has laid them as, the trap nest record will show at the; close of the year No one should pre-1 sume to know Just how many eggs a hen is going to lav In a given time. but she can be Judged well enough for all practical purposes. Farmer Musi Be Practical The practical thing ir verv essential. The farmer produces about per cent, of all poultry and -ggs In the I'nited I States. The farmer has a multitude of duties and must necessarily adopt; any practical method that has a tendency ten-dency to reduce requirements of labor and time. If a farmer can perform a task in two or three hours that) would require a little time out of every day In the year, and produce the same results, it certainly Is the better busi- i neas to take the short cut Judging1 fowls for egg production is the practical practi-cal thing I High producing hens have '.idth and depth proportionate to their i length They are broad through the bach and shoulders, ftud the breast bone is parallel with the back bone The breast bone of some hens makes Ja straight line from the front of the breast bone to the pelvic bones. Such hens lay few eggs, if any. There should be a great expanse between the pelvic bones and the rear end of the pelvic bone, which allows for a great amount of intestinal development Some hens have ro more intestinal (development than contained In the bony cavity of the bodv, while other hens have more intestinal development back of the bony cavltv than is contained con-tained in the bony cavity itself. Hens iniust have a groat amount of intes-itlnal intes-itlnal development to lay many eggs Intestinal development may be determined deter-mined by the fullness and flexibility of the posterior. Many hens have full ; posteriors that are not Intestinal development de-velopment In sin h hen the posteriot will be solid, not pliable and the development de-velopment Is solid f-al Such hens arc-light arc-light producers. The pelvic bones of high producing hens are wide apart, straight, thin, and pliable High producing hens are hard-fleshed. This may i determined deter-mined bv the feel of the flesh on the breast. Manv hens have flesh that is as hard as a pheasant's High producing pro-ducing hens luivo good handling qualities quali-ties with soft, flexible posteriors but nicely tucked up. They have soft flexible skin. The skin on manv hens Is very tight to te body and feels harsh. The handling qualities of a hen should never be overlooked, as ii Is the determining fac tor In egg production. pro-duction. Good Laying Hens The hen's head tells much. High producing hens have large heads In proportion to the size of the hen, but not large enough to give them a coarse n pp ;i ra nee I n fact, t he head should indicate refinement although not over-refinement. over-refinement. Over-refinement may be determined by the indication of lack of vigor, long heads, long straight beaks, and sleepy ayes. High producing produc-ing hens have broad, deep heads, fairly fair-ly short, stout beaks, and ban red fares. All lean-faced hens are not high producers, but fat. pudgy facts do not Indicate high production. The omb of high producing hens are always full of blood except when the hen Is out of condition. Condition mas be determined by the molt or state of health The quality of the com lis that Is to say, the smoothness or velvety fell to the touch. Is also1 I la factor. Many people have the idea thai early molting bona gel Into condition condi-tion for heavy winter egg production, which Is not true Tho earlier a hen molts the fewer eggs she lays Hens molt when the stop laying. The early molter. then, has nothing eUe to do but change her clothes, dress up, and look well The heavy producing produc-ing hen Is very untidy in appearance (for the greater part of the year The earl J molter is the society hen. The iate molter is the worker. Earlv mol-;ters mol-;ters take long rests; late molters 'akc short rests. Hens that molt Jn October. Octo-ber. November and December, will with proper care be in condition and laying again before hens that molt in July are llkel) to resume laving Hens lay' the color out of their bodies. All yellow-skinned hens lay their color out It is noticeable, first at the vent lh-n the oeak. Inside the mouth and out, and then the color leaves the legs. This process affects high producing hens to the extent that the vent, beak and legs become Mint" white or pink Ml English breeds are by nature pink skinned These are the more Important signs of the laving hen Tin re are other points which may be a little more technical, but space win not permit ftirthe, discussion. Much data could be presented to substantiate the accuracy of the plan of Judging hens for egg "production If there were space. The "rlter handled more than 20,000 hens hi culling demonstration dem-onstration work in KUS, and has i plenty of data covering tests that w.-ro made by the farmer to determine jthe accuracy of the work. Many '.communities In Idaho and virtually some entire counties adopted the poul-i !trv program of work through their! farm bureaus, and conduct the culling! Work systematically. oo |