The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1910-04-21
Pure-Bred Langshans as Layers.

The Langshan as breed has many
qualities in which all who have raised
them claim they excel all other breeds,
Dut one OF their greatest points of
excellence Is their great production.
While my purpose in this article is to
call attention more forcibly to the
great egg-laying qualities OF the pure
bred Langshan, yet l cannot refrain
from mentioning some OF their other
good points also.
All who have seen the Langshan,
either on the free range of a farm,
In the fancier's yard, or in the show
room, have been compelled to admire
Its beauty. Only to those who have
never seen this bred is it necessary
to say anything of the beauty of the
birds. But to those / would say that
there Is no more handsome a bird
raised to-day. For those who admire
a colored bird, the Blacks, with their
rich. glossy, greenish-black sheen
glistening with every changing light
or. those who prefer a white fowl,
the Whites, as pure and pearly white
as any fowl bred to-day-and either
the Blacks or Whites with the char
acteristic "Lordly Langshan" carriage
the males, proud, erect and stately.
masterful in appearance. the females,
large in body, yet in no sense clumsy,
graceful, alert, active, bright-eyed
birds, the minutest detail of bearing
such as to attract the eye-these, to-
gether with their rich bright red
combs, wattles and ear lobes and dark
(almost black), intelligent eyes.
make the Langshan as a breed pre-
eminent always as a bird of beauty.
But, fortunately, it is not beauty
alone in which the Langshan excels.
AS table fowl, they are all that the
most exacting could desire. Large
bodies, clean white skin and the meat
fine grained, tender and juicy. with a
flavor unexcelled. I do not believe
there Is a breed in existence to-day
that produces as fine favored or as
desirable meat as the Langshan.
Yet. with all it's good points as al
ready mentioned, there is still an
other in which the Langshan is ahead
of anything else. That is in the all
important item of egg production.
Taken month in and month out, the
year around, the Langshan hen will
outdo all in. number Of eggs laid.
The hens stand confinement we'll and
with proper care in small yard, will
steadily she'll out the eggs, but, II
allowed free range. they will forage
as readily and as far as the smaller
breeds. They do not have any great
tendency to get excessively fat on
heavy feeding, but rather seem to
put all the extra feed into eggs.
When they cannot increase the num-
Der of eggs they proceed to increase
the size. 1t seems that some of the
hens wish the Almighty would permit
them to lay more than one egg a day,
for have. from a small pen of fowls,
gotten a double egg almost every day
for a week, or a longer time some
times.
And again, very profitable fea-
ture in the laying qualities of the
Langshan is the very short time in
which they begin laying again after
having been broken from a broody
spell or after having been allowed to
sit and hatch brood of chicks. II
not allowed to sit the hens will in
nearly every case begin laying again
within a week, and, most frequently,
in three or four days from the time
they are taken off the nest. If al
lowed to sit and raise the chicks,
they will very often begin laying
again before the chicks are near
weaned and will continue to lay
every day and mother the chicks also.
/ have had hens that have been sitting
fos over six weeks continuously (that
is. l have let hen hatch one sitting
of eggs. have taken the chicks from
her and put fresh eggs under, letting
her hatch second brood, have then
taken the chicks from her again)
and had the hen laying again on the
fourteenth day from the time last
chicks were taken from her. I be-
lieve that any pure-bred Langshan
hen will begin laying in two weeks
or less after Matching a brood of
chicks IL the chicks are taken from
her and frequently in very little over
this time, if allowed to mother the
chicks.
OF course, there are some strains
of Langshans that have been selected
for their great egg-laying traits that
will produce more eggs in year than
others: but think that all that has
been written above applies equally
to all pure-bred strains Of Langshans.
My experience has been only with
the Blacks, but I am told by reliable
breeders and fanciers of the Whites
that they are the equal of their Black
sisters In all good points.
Another most desirable feature in
connection with the great number of
eggs laid in war 10 tba Font tha.