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Show mm EGGS FOR MARKET AND FOR HATCHING Point for Poultry Breeder to Consider. The poultry breeder must and can count his chicks before they hatch, if he manages his breeding flock properly, proper-ly, says G. F. Heuser of the New York State College of Agriculture. In addition ad-dition to large numbers of eggs, the flock must lay eggs that are fertile 'and that are capable of producing chicks that are healthy and vigorous. Feed makes the difference between good and poor hatching eggs, he says. Two pens of hens at Cornell laid, on the average, 211 eggs to the hen In a year, a satisfactory number; but one pen's eggs hatched 27.5 per cent, and the other hatched 71.4 of the fertile eggs that were set in February. The two pens received two different rations, ra-tions, both satisfactory for egg-laying but not equally satisfactory for hatching hatch-ing purposes. Weight may be used as an indication indica-tion of health. Hens gaining or maintaining their weight show the the best hatches, while those losing weight suffer most. Hens with yellow color in the shanks have eggs that hatch better than those with faded shanks, because the presence of the color indicates a better surplus of fat and vitamins. Intensive laying and long-laying periods previous to the hatching season may result in lowered hatchability, since it is difficult to maintain high production and the weight of the birds at the same time. A lack of vitamins, especially, has shown unfavorable results. Experiments Experi-ments conducted at Cornell show cod-liver cod-liver oil improved hatchability 10 to 25 per cent, depending on the severity of the conditions under which the hens were kept. The inclusion of green food increased the hatchability 5 to 10 per cent, and the feeding of milk 5 to 15 per cent. |