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Show IBmTCTI TURKEYS LAY THREE LITTERS Poults Hatched Later Than June Do Not Dsvslop for Thankiglvlng Markets, tPnptrtd by tht Unltta Sutw Dtputraiat of Agriculture.) Soon after mating turkey hens he- . gin to look for nesting places nnd usually commenco laying In frpm a week to 10 dnys after tho first mating. Ono mating Is sufllclent t,o fertilize all tho egga of ono litter, but the hens ordinarily mate three or four times before be-fore beginning to lay. All turkey hens, of course, do not begin laying at the, same time, nnd In a flock of about IS It may bo six weeks or moro from the time tho first hen. begins to lay until the last, begins. I'ullots usually commence com-mence laying n llttlo earlier than yen rl In its or older hens, sny poultry Bronze Turkey Hen. specialists In tho Unltca Stntca Department De-partment of Agriculture. Tho averagu number of eggs In ithe first Utter Is about 18, although In Individual hens it may vary from 12 to HO. Hens that do not have to bo set can be broken up on becoming broody uud made to lay a second or a third titter. The number of eggs laid In the second litter averages about 12, and in the third, about 10, although there Is considerable variation ike tho egg pro-luctlon pro-luctlon of different hens. Some turkey hens can be mndo to ay four or five litters, but tills Is not usually advisable, as poults hatched later than Juno do not havo a chance to deVelop for tho Thanksgiving and Christmas markets and arc not sum-clcntly sum-clcntly mature by the following spring to bo used ns breeders. A hen that begins be-gins laying In the middle of March will usually finish laying her first litter early in April, her second llttor about tho third week In May, depending up. on the number, of eggs she lays and Ilia promptness with which sho Is broken up on becoming broody. Hens that are allowed to hatch and raise a brood of poults after laying their first Httcr often begin laying aguln In the fall, but 'pcults hatched ut that time arc of little value except for broilers, as they require too much care and attention to carry them through the wfnter. Fali-batcbed pul-lets pul-lets begin laying Into the following spring, hut they nro Immature ut that time and poults hatched from their eggs do not develop Into Inrge, strong birds ns do poults from mature stock. |