Show PO LOAFING HEN NOT WANTED IN FLOCK watch for the slacker and eliminate her discovering the hens that are loafing and are not paying for their board Is 13 an easy task if it a few simple rules are followed asserts P B zumbro specialist in poultry for the agricultural extension service at the ohio state university operating cooperating with county agricultural agents whether or not a hen Is in prodoc tion he says may be determined by examining the vent pubic bones comb wattles and ear lobes the vent of a laying hen Is enlarged soft pliable moist and free from yellow color that of a hen out of production will be dry and stiff the pubic bones of the laying hen are wide apart usually the width of two or more fingers compared wita the close fitting bones of the non pro dueer ducer which are no farther apart than the width of one or two fingers in the laying hen there Is considerable depth between the rear of the keel and the pubic bones usually the width of two or more fingers compared with the one or two finger width of the hen out of production the comb Is large full and of glossy appearance in the case of the pullet or hen about to lay this condition lasts as a rule until the peak of production toward the end of production it loses its gloss and prominence and although still red it appears limp and wilted the comb of a hen that has quit laying Is small contracted dry and usually covered with a white scale or dandruff the comb zumbro adds Is one of the best external characters to indicate non production in hens as they are ob served in the pen or yard all breeds and varieties of chickens may be culled on the basis of these factors he be points out however pig Is another characteristic in di cating whether or not birds are lay ing birds of the yellow skinned va such as leghorns rocks keds reds and Wyan dottes show yellow color in the beak skin and shanks before they start laying it Is similar to the yel low in the yolk of the egg the col oring material Is provided by the teed feed largely from yellow corn and the green leafy parts of plants IN ahen hen the bird starts to lay the coloring ma terdal in the feed Is used tor for coloring yolks of eggs and the amount that has been stored in the skin beak and shanks Is gradually used up this constitutes a fading or bleaching process the extent depending upon the number of eggs produced cost of layers feed under normal conditions it takes 57 2 eggs to pay for the cost of feed for a pullet during the pullet year figures supplied by the dominion ex perl mental station at que show this figure Is arrived at from an average of 12 years results the number of eggs required to pay the cost of feed per bird varies with prevailing market prices from year to year during the period of the report it has ranged from as low as 60 50 eggs in 1922 to a peak of 69 in 1928 while it took 51 to pay the feed cost in 1931 when eggs are cheap feed is usually correspond angly cheap this year feed Is cheap in localities enjoying fair crops poss bly the egg value of a pullets pullet s feed will be less than the average montreal herald poultry facts canning old roosters Is the best way to d spose of them this year a the most common troubles with lit ili tie tle chicks are those due to crowding and contaminated soil a in handling ducks pick them up b by the neck rather than by the legs which are apt to break easily A new laid egg Is said to be about 90 per cent water and it if the birda birds cannot obtain enough the egg organs are bound to suffer pullets should be fed lots of grain including some yellow corn advises miss cora tooke cooke extension specialist in III poultry minnesota university farm docks dacks lay their eggs in the morn ing and should be confined until 9 30 a in the average pekin duck lays from to eggs each season proper care and feed prevents a well bred pullet from molting in the fall plenty of feed wil will not make the pullets too fat a it Is most important that the hen hens a droppings about 60 56 pounds a year should be properly stored or treated the simplest and best way Is to mix the material w th twice its we of dry earth and keep covered when possible a early laying by pullets Is controlled primarily by breeding the time of laying can be influenced only a few weeks by s feeding but it Is not advisable to hold back pullets in the fall |