Milford chronicle., 1915-06-25


time above all others when mos
: poultry breeders are prone to over
p crowd their yards and runs, thus ser.
' iously hampering their efforts to
1 build up and maintain a profitable
flock of chickens.
r This condition will not only be
found at the plants of those who aim
{ to produce show birds, but is equally
true of those who maintain fowls of
the utility strain for purely CONNER
! cial purposes, and is likewise the case
with the man who only keeps a small
number of chickens for his own use.
It makes but little or no difference
what your objective might be, success
cannot be attained if the yards or pens
are overcrowded. In breeding and
raising fowls for exhibition purposes,
it is necessary first to breed and hatch
likely birds, and secondly to give the
fowls the best and most careful atten-
tion, in the hope that they may be CON
sidered candidates for high hOnors be-
fore the experts that are employed to
pass judgement upon them in the show
room. This care and attention cannot
be given if the focks are large and
overrun with culls. Neither can it be
given if the yards and pens are over
crowded, even though all may be
promising specimens.
! The same can well be applied to the
/ flock which is bred and raised for
utility purposes, with the hope of their
! yielding a profit. Where large num-
bers of birds are Matched. even though
good birds may be used in the matings
many are the specimens that are off
cOlsr, unshapely and of various sizes. |
These cannot be retained in the flock |
if you hope to build up a profitable !
utility strain.
In either case, then, it is necessary
to Gull out and Gull closely. The |
presence of the culls will not only |
take up the room which should be de-
voted to the use and development of |
those that will mean something when
they have matured. Then again, what
sense is there in carrying over a lot
of unshapely, half sized, undevelOped
chickens which greatly increase the
feed bills, when in the end they will
be Improbable from the standpoint of
yielding eggs and are most undesir-
able for marketable purposes?
Rid the yards and pens of such as
these, and be content to raise fewer
and more profitable fowls which will
yield a nice profit during the coming
fall and winter.
Oh yes, the job of culling is a diff
cult one, and for this reason don't ex-
pect to complete it all at once. The
process of culling should be started
by selecting all of the youngsters
which show any signs of developing
into anything worth while, and market
the rest at once. thereby converting
them into ready cash.
One week later go over the flock
second time, using a little more care, {
and again send to market all of the /
A third culling may be d
necessary in the case of selecting S
fowls for the building of a good utility
strain. If show birds are your aim,
the culling process must be continued
further, until nothing remains but the 3
very best specimens which appeal to
you as Icing true to the requirements :
)f the Standard OF Perfection; for =
you must remember that it is by this
hat they will be judged in the show
'oom d
If the work Of culing is properly
lone each year, and special attention
las been given TO each mating your
lirds will eventually prove winners: ST
Dut no man is successful in produc- Ia
ng prize winners when he first starts g
n. 1t is true, however, that many p
ersons will capture the much cOvet- Il
ed ribbons right off, but it is dollars b.
0 doughnuts" that their birds are al
purchased and not their own produc-
ion.
There are many persons who care +,
. 10, Fgnrs oh l.
S their breeding is concerned, but ~
ontent themselves with breeding util- ~
y ones, ana Tor that reason it is q
lther hard to get them to understand -
lat it is necessary for them to Gull %
leir flocks. l take my hat off to the
ersOn who sticks to the utility birds,
II after all, here is where the real ia
Oney lies. But remember, in order fr
get the most out of utility stock &C
ne must Gull re
The failure on the part of the utility on
FEEDER to Gull is just where he makes ne
serious mistake. You may possess
large flock of chickens, from which
~ are getting fair quantity of eggs la,
1t the point is, are you getting as is
any eggs as you should? Some mem ed
RS of the flock may be good layers, fol
~ lAAC u uIl VI LllG IldtteI Is THAT WI
any of them are poor ones, COM
only called non-producers or drOnes.
other words, there are those in the
'ck that will not produce sufficiently ar
pay for their feed. These eat up all I'll,
e profit OF the good layers gel
Then why continue to feed them
d keep down your profits? This you
II surely do unless you adopt the {
ocess of culling. Single out those gre
MS that do not produce, and dispose nie
them. In the future use only good bre
yers in your breeding pens, and as ma
on as the youngsters get going Gull be
t those that are slow in developing roc
d unPOmising. Unless a chick is A
pit growing all the time until it ma is
'es it will not be worth much as a the
)ducer. The minute a chick lags If
its growth or development it be- the
nes unfit to be retained as a profit the
lrer and should be disposed of. If the
S process is carefully carried out, for
l may not get large flock around dett
| as quickly as otherwise, but what Allt
/ do raise will be of better quality the
produce a profit. Your flock, few
lie possibly not so large, will be bre,