Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1914-12-03

tho hens mature as per schedule. The
eoiowinG article helps to some degree
I, solve the problem.
The pmhlem of winter egg production
has always been a mystery to many
Especially does the beginner in poultry
keeping struggle with It with discouraging
results for the first and sometimes the
seco,d year. This year above all, due
to Me high price of poultry feeds and
equipment. the subject of winter eggs is
Important. That the price of fresh hen
fuit Will he high enough to overbalance
ne cost OF production. there is no doubt.
But the poultrvkeoper must have fock
that will produce from at least 80 to -
per cent egg yield during the winter
months to insure a profit above the feed
bill.
Late spring and summer laying will not
do this with the lower price of eggs and
with feeds at winter prices From pres
ent indications the price Of all poultry
feeds will not he much lower. if any.
In fact for n number Of years the price
of poultry feeds and equipment (as in all
other lines) has gradually advanced. With
this increased price the egg and poultry
market in these seasons has advanced,
consequently the outlook for poultry was
never better for those who can produce.
But, as the result of the higher cost of
living, poultry management which in
years past yielded a profit will not do so
now.
ESSENTIALS FOR WINTER LAYERS.
No longer can one expect hens that arc
three and four years old, or pullets that
We're Matched in July or August, to Yield
"a big egg crop In winter months and give
la profit
More is now required to obtain winter
eggs than the mere fact that one has a
good, up-to-date poultry building, or uses
the best of feeds and ratons mixed ac-
cording to the advice of the best poultry
experts Buildings and feeds are essen
tials in winter egg production, but they
never yet made the immature pullet lay,
or compelled the three or four-year-oid
hen to shell out enough eggs to more
than pay her board bill
These are some of the rocks that the
beginner strikes. The breeder of some
years knows this and winters only fowls
that are known will be producers Fowls
that attain maturity Before the cold
Weather sets in and have been properly
grown from shell to without
undue forcing-Can he depended upon to
lay during the winter; hens that are
not over two years old and have moult-
ed well, will in all majority OF cases
commence to lay during December and
once started will yield a fair supply OF
hen fruit
The main objection to hens is that
they do not all moult at the same time
and the percentage that moult late is
greater than of those who shed the old
feathers. grow the new and are in lay
ing condition by November and Decem-
Der. The best egg yield, therefore, is
always obtained from the proporly-growr
pullet and Matched at the right time
according to the breed
MUST REACH MATURITY.
Many beginners, relying on poultry
writers, figure that in five months tn,
Leghorn pullet will lay it's first egg, Of
Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes or Rhod
Island Reds will lay in six months. Moth
bng could be more misleading, because tn
time that flock will come into ayinl
depends on many things. First, If no
properly grown each check postpone
maturity lust that long, and no feed
or care can make the pullets lay unit
they have reached their maturity. Ma
turity can be forced to a certain degree
but in almost every case at the eXpens
pf the fowls usefulness in the long run
It is here that many beginners max
the mistake of thinking that the yer
late Matched pullets will prove Winte
Layers. 1t is not always possible to gro'
them without some slight setback, no
can the beginner hope to rear them a
well as the experienced poultry raisei
llence the beginners fowls do not com
into laying condition as soon as expected
and perhaps the breed or the breede
from whom the stock or eggs was pun
chased il blamed, when the blame shoul
justly rest on the shoulders of the on
who raised them, Properly grown frOl
good laying strain, Leghurns should h'
gin laying at from five to six month
from the shell; Wyandottes, Rhode l.
land Reds, at from five and a half
six and a half Plymouth Rocks ahoi
the same, and some strains of Orpingtor
will also do the same, but the gener
rule is, the heavier the breed the long
1t takes to laying maturity.
AS TO HOUSING
II the fowls are Of the laying age tn,
should first of all be properly house
In fact, the proper housing Is one
the first essentials to good egg produ
tion, for It gives the poultry hot
health, and without perfect health el
production cannot be expected.
The style OF house makes little diffe
ence except that it must give plenty
fresh air without drafts; added to III
must come the arrangement that plen
of sun must be admitted during winter
shortest days Sunlight and fresh air a
two great factors in getting winter egs