Show hatchability OF INHERITED low rate causes heavy losses to industry yearly prepare by the united state deper ment ot forty per cent or of the eggs incubated annually fall to produce ahe chicks according to the united states department of agriculture such a ow rate of hatching ability causes heavy losses to the industry annually solution of the problem Is ono of the important un of the poultry specialists at present while many factors such as breeding feeding and management have an important bearing on the hatchability of the eggs produced heredity Is also a factor it la now known that some hens lay eggs of a higher hatchability than others and that this characteristic can be transmitted from sire to daughter in fact the studies already made by department poultry men andl cate eliat strains which will produce eggs with a very high hatching power may be developed by trap nesting pedigree hatching and selection of hens producing a high percentage of livable chicks at the departments poultry experiment farm at beltsville md breeding work Is being conducted to develop strains of high hatching ability some progress has already been made records of one hen with an average of 90 per cent eggs show that she has transmitted this characteristic in a large degree to her progeny she has two daughters and seven granddaughters with records of hatchability ranging from 78 to 95 per cent or an average of ag per cent hatchability department poultry men are of the opinion that such records as these will proe of interest to the poultry breeder or commercial because they are evidence that a pedigree number of egge alone and no evidence of their hatchability Is greatly lacking in completeness sunlight Is important as source of Vi tamine D sunlight Is without an equal to furnish the necessary D to laying hens says prof J E dougherty of tho poultry husbandry division of the university of california while it Is more valuable than any other agency says dougherty the quartz mercury capor lamp will good results and where sunlight la not available it may be used either sunlight or the lamp excel cod ai cr oil in this respect although where sunlight Is lacking and the quartz mercury vapor lamp Is not available the cod liver oil will be far better than nothing sunlight Is cheap where it Is at all available says professor dougherty and where it Is possible poultry should be exposed to the direct rays of the sun as much as possible watch shipping days to get higher hen prices there Is a right time to ship poultry shipment should be made so it will reach the market tuesday wednes daiy diy or thursday according to observations by many experienced shippers the market Is often 0 er loaded toward the end of the week resulting in sell ing at reduced prices to avoid a carryover to the next week says W D Termo lilen of iowa state college it Is also a smart plan to compare local prices with terminal market prices because in miny cases the difference Is not worth the extra costs connected with shipping confining turkeys it Is generally considered unwise to closely confine turkeys for any len etli of time hence the crate feeding method practiced in finishing chickens Is not employed turkeys however it Is considered advisable to somewhat restrict range during the finishing pe an empty barn shed or shelter with a limited aard range can sene admirably for finishing quarter it in proper sanitary condition mites eat feathers there are leeral reasons for the loss of feathers on the head and neck of a fowl but it Js usually due to the fowls themselves in scratching and breaking the feathers off with their claws this Is apparently caused by a mite thought to be the same as that causing scaly leg and which gets under the skin causing irelta alon application of carbolated grease into which has been worked a little sulphur will be found helpful for this trouble poultry paralysis poultry paralysis Is eo far an in curable disease the cause of which Is unknown sais the oregon experiment station where the disease Is present the station urges rigid danl in tearing next years young idock as possible preventive measures important factors to boar in mind to his connection are brooding on con rete or wire and removing the fowls after the brooding period land not previously used for pul ry 1 |