Lower coast gazette., 1909-05-22
OF CHICKENS
BEST BREED NOT ALWAYS MOST
PROFITABLE.
Management and Care Essential rea'
tures-Gradual Decrease in Lay
ing Of Hen After the .
First Year.

The question as to which Is the
most nroitable breed of fowls Is very
frequently asked me-. There are un'
doubtedly differences in breeds, OUT
undue Importance should not o.
placed upon breed. The trap nest mas
shown that there is more dlf1erence III
individuals than in breeds. Breed Is
not everything, says a writer III Az
lanta Constitution. You must Keep
away from that idea in poultry Keep
ing. If one starts In the poultry Dusl'
ness with the best breed" as they
believe. and has with it the noton
that breed is everything, there, Will De
inevitable failure. The breed may
be all right, but the' fowls must De
encouraged to do their best by good
care and management. When eggs are
steady at 80 cents a. dozen ana tne
hens fail to respond, the owner IS ike
" to become unreasonable M take
ND with another breed, and most ike
" the fault was not in the breed. Inc
fanlt is usually one OF two things
enther the hens are of a poor or non
productive strain of their breed. or
the management is poor.
It is a point in management that !
wish to write of here, one point Oh
many that may be taken into account
if poultry keeping is to be a a
success. 1t is a question OF the most
profitable age of the. hen. Poultry
raisers who have kept in touch WIFI
poultry Investigations during the pas
few years are pretty we'll informed or
this point, but the Importance OF the
subject is not yet generally appre
ciated. To determine this fact, a lint
of experiments was conducted by sew
eral experiment stations with the OF
iect of determining the value OF tn
hen at different ages for egg produ(
ton. The same hens were kept yea
after year under similar condition!
and a record was kept of productlo
and food consumed. These exper
ments proved that the hen is differer
81 from the COW, which retains or In
proves her productivity with age. In
first year was the most profitable, an
there was a gradual decrease in pr
\ ductiveness each succeeding year.
is safe to figure this decrease at
per cent. each year. With averat
prices for food and for eggs, 1t
y not profitable to keep hens after tn
have finished their second year
laying. The first, or pullet year,
very profitable, the second will give
satisfactory profit, but during t
=, third year the egg yield will seldc
y pay for the food consumed.
1t is safe to say that poultry ra
;. ers of the south would be many thu
sands of dollars in pocket by Wig
ously killing off the hens every t
years and replacing them with n
stock-with exceptions noted abo
hom When pullets and hens are allowed
saw, run together it will be necessary
anv. mark them, otherwise it will be d
rom EulJ W SCpdldIC IL oiu
rson young when it is desired to mar
them. The usual method of mark
lit. is to punch a hole in the web
has tween the toes when the chicks
HON Matched. This is easily and quic
new done with a punch, that may be
,ster. chased from poultry supply, houses
mira. rs cents. A number of different m;
nifty. ings may be made in this way.
On 4 ing of one toe nail is another 6
and way of marking chicks. Do this W
t ex. chicks are first Matched and be-
!, be. the first feed.
, and The above suggestion is timely
tn 1t. the Matching season will be over
death latter part of May, and 1t is a use
erent expense carrying ove a lot Of old
at we another year. Dispose OF them
fore they begin to moult, giving t
49,. room and feed to the youngsters
. 49, ing on.