OCR Text |
Show BREED CHICKENS FOR PR0FI1 In Making Selection One Must Be Governed to Great Extent by Market Mar-ket Cockerel Is Important In making the selection of breed, one must be governed somewhat by the market. Birds that sell best on the block should be medium In size, plump condition, with yellow skin and legs. Most all our American breeds have these requirements, and by careful care-ful selection at breeding time one can build up a profitable laying strain from this class of birds, such as the Plymouth Rocks or Wyandottes. The common practice of breeding from the flock as a whole has done more harm than anything else in making mak-ing the flock unprofitable as egg producers. pro-ducers. Breeding from birds that produce but one or two clutches of eggs during the year will produce birds' of like nature, and breeding a ire that has not the laying quality and characteristics bred in him can-Dot can-Dot but help to make the situation worse. The success with egg production must begin with breeding. When you have a hen that will lay a large number num-ber of eggs each month during the winter, breed from her. The trait of superior egg production is a habit that may be acquired and transmitted. A hen whose ancestors were poor layers lay-ers cannot be expected to be a good layers. No amount of coaxing or coddling cod-dling with mash or feed will Induce her to produce an unusual number of eggs, because the trait of superior egg production was not acquired by her ancestry and could not therefore be transmitted to her. The selection of the male to head the flock should not be neglected. He, should have been bred from productive pro-ductive ancestry. The male is hal' Plymouth Rock. the flock, and if his dam and grand-Sam grand-Sam were good producers, he should be worth much more as a sire than those whose dam produced only a limited lim-ited number of eggs. He should have a good constitution showing short beak, broad head and bright eye, neck short and stout breast of good width carried well forward for-ward and of fair depth. The mating of such a sire to a flock of hens bred from laying ancestors cannot but help to give good results with proper feeding feed-ing and housing. The breeding pen should be yarded separate from the whole flock, select Ing for this pen only the very besl egg producers, and this should bi done each year. One male with l'l or 12 females will give best result! and eggs will be of stronger vitality for incubating purposes. The breeding breed-ing pen should be well cared for. Quarters should be roomy, well lighted light-ed and ventilated. The quarter! should at all times be kept clean and disinfected. A variety of grain feedj green cut bone and green feed is absolutely ab-solutely necessary to insure fertile: eggs, and grit and water should b kept before them at all times. |