Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1913-08-21
e Poultry Yard
Time to Market Old Hens.

MGMA HAa
experience has told us that hens.
after they have passed their third sea-
son or laying are not nearly so profit
able to Keep as are pullets and ounge
hens. After the second season of lay
Ing the decrease is slight for the third
but during the next period they fall
on a whole lot, and it is this time of
slack work which we want to antici-
pate and provoke against. As a rule,
II the pullets are early Matched, that is,
N February and March, they will, dur
ing the following fall, winter and
spring, lay more eggs than they will
during any succeeding period of their
| lives. Consequently pay better for
their keep, but it will not pay to dis
pose of them after just one period of
usefulness of this kind, for the de-
crease for the second year will as a
rule be SO slight that they will be a
paying proposition all right.
The third season they begin to be
too fat and as a result sluggish in all
movements, laying along with the
rest. 1t is this time that the strictly
up-to-date poultryman who is looking
after the little leaks in the business
with a keen eye gets rid of the hens
of this class unless there be one, Ly
observation. that is proving that she is
thoroughly able to pay her way and
leave a good profit besides.
! 1t is a good time from now On Until
September to market this class of hens
Some of them may ave been doing
duty as settlers N mothers.
In that s. they may set in and
lay a nice batch of eggs, in which case
by all can let them alone as long
as they are hitting it up in that shape,
but just as soon as they stop and show
signs of going into moult get ready to
put them on the market. Lose no time
at it, either, for every day is just so
much feed lost. You see the chances
are that they will DO into a long-drawn
Out moult lasting away into the fall
and no eggs will be forthcoming before
late in the following spring, and then
but irregular laying is the general rule
for such a class of hens. That means
d lot of valuable feed thrown away
With but slight returns from the egg
crop. As to keeping them for the
holiday trade, as some have done, will
say that that will not as a rule pay
half so well as to get them right off
as Dol as their day of usefulness as
indicated has passed. Because our ia
theirs and grandfathers had the habit
Of letting these old hens loaf around
aS long as they had the strength to
drag about is no reason for our doing
so improbable a thing. 1t may take
q little effort and watchfulneSs on our
part to tell which the hens are that are
cid enough to be in that class. If we
have but a small flock it is usually not
81 very hard task to remember the old
Tes by some popularity about them,
but where we have a large flock the
proper thing to do Is to prepare for
this very time when these hens are
Matched by marking them in b foot
with a punch. A certain mark for one
year and another foot mark for anoth-
er foot mark for another year. In that
way o can get at them to a certain
ty. Good chickens are usually scarce
at this season for the reason that peO-
pie usually dispose of all the surplus
stock that they think they are not go
ing to need earlier in the spring.
Then, too, these old hens are usual
~ in their very prime as to flesh, ma
tGre having given them a good plump
kody for the duties of egg production
and the Matching and rearing period.
Tt will pay to dres sthem as a rule and
with care put them upon the market
in splendid shape. In that way they
will mot show their age nearly so much
as they do on foot with perhaps rough
sllanks, etc. At any rate attend to
this work of getting them upon the
market at the opportune time, saving
yourself a lot of expensive feed. Mar
ket a few of them at a time as they
quit laying and begin to moult. South
ern Agriculturist.