| Show BREEDING CHICKENS FOB EGGS AND TABLE single comb buff orpington cock by A V to the farmer who hakea an inter eat in his fowls and Is desirous of making a profit from them the ques alon of the birds to use for stock pur poses Is an important one this eel darm receives sufficient attention it Is the exception to see in the farmyard many fowls of any definite breed seldom la there any attempt to bring any fresh blood into the yard and so the stock in many instances becomes closely inbred leading to deterioration in size and constitution at fresh birds are introduced the usual practice Is to exchange one or two cockerell cockerels cocker els with a neighbor no heed however being taken as to the stamp of fowl or their suitability to produce the class of chickens that will pay the leet in deciding upon the most prof stable breeds it must first be conald ered whether eggs or chickens tor the table will aall more readily in some districts eggs have to be will thrive in any situation and climate those breeds all lay white eggs layers of colored agga egga are sitters but it brown and tinted eggs are preferred black and buff plymouth rocks and white and other colored Wyan dottes are all good lay ers particularly in the winter when the eggs realize the highest prices if only mongrel hens are kept as Is the case on most farms the number of eggs can be largely increased in the next generation by using minorca an lusian da or leghorn cocks when chickens tor the table are desired there Is nothing better than a first cross between an old english game or indian game and a wyan dotte brahma or plymouth rock or with the usual mongrel farm hens cocks will be sure to produce some meaty chickens in any event in arranging tor the stock birds of the farm it Is most am rose comb columbian wyandotte cock looked to for the profit in others the growing of table poultry will be more lucrative or there may be a good market tor both should there be a ready sale tor both agga egga and table fowls it la worth while to keep two te parate sets of fowls in different parts of the farm portable poultry houses make this easy besides helping to lessen the teed bill the ease with which the houses can be moved on fresh ground particularly in the grain balds after harvest effecting a decided saving for egg production a better average ot eggs will be obtained it the bulk of the stock are non sitters among pure bred fowls white leg horns and black are difficult to surpass as layers of a quantity of ggs lay very large eggs md white leghorns Leg horns though not producing as big an egg as the other two breeds are hardy to use only pure bred cock birds and not cross bars or mongrels mon grels the age of all birds is an important matter it Is advisable not to keep cocks or hens after they are three years old over that age there are few hens that will lay enough eggs to be profitable and their room can be taken up with advantage by pullets the best arrangement Is to breed from a two year old male bird mated with large well grown march hatched pullets |
