Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-31
Poultry Yard Notes.

correspondent, commenting on a re-
cent article in these columns on selling
eggs by weight, writes:
| Am glad to note that you advocate
| selling eggs by weight instead OF per
Dozen People may say a dozen eggs
i is dozen eggs, but just the same you
can't get away from the fact that a
| dozen eggs that weigh thirty-s1x
| ounces contains nearly a pound more
| of eggs than another dozen that only
| weighs twenty-four ounces II you
| buy small oranges you pay according
| to the size of the oranges; nobody
| tells you that a dozen oranges is a
dozen oranges. regardless of size AS
! it is now, the fellow who markets
| stingy little eggs gets the same price
for them-provided they are strictly
( fresh-as the man whose hens lay big,
| heavy, three-ounce eggs. If there is
| any fairness about this l have never
been able to see it. Why cant wash
| ington produce men unite on the prop
osition of selling eggs by weight
| freshness considered, as always, to be
| sure-and thus encourage poultrymen
! to produce the biggest, finest eggs
| possible? Every poultryman knows
| that none but the strongest, healthiest,
most vigorous hens lay the big. heavy
eggs. and that the little ones are
usually from hens that have no con-
| stitution. One would think that any
| body would be glad to buy only eggs
| from strong, healthy. well fed and
| well conditioned hens. especially if
| such eggs contained, as they usually
| do. a third more actual egg. Why
| this up; or is the question too really
| practical to engage their attention."
The theory SO often advanced in
years past that the fowl built and
fe3thered in closest approach to the
| sc-called STANDARD of perfection was
the only fowl worth raising has been
pretty thoroughly exploded in late
years. Some of the best layers in the
recent egg-laying contests have been
hens that would not come within a
mile of fourth place in show, if
judged according to the standard.
These hens in more than one instance
| have shown that they were capable of
transmitting their ege-laying procliv-
Iites to their offspring, which is more
than many of the prize winning show
fowls do. The poultry industry is rap
idly becoming q thoroughly practical
/, business and the men engaged in it
are after results. What they want is a
strain that will lay the largest number
of eggs when eggs bring the highest
prices and do it at the lowest cost. and
the demand for the highest class utility
fowl is Increasing at rate that is
shortly going to compel the associa-
lions, show officials and judges to take
| notice.
The closer poultrymen can appro2i-
mate in handling their focks the con-
ditions existing in small iocks-that
is, numbering twenty to thirty hens
the better results will be obtained.
This is the reason for the colony plan
by which the main flock is divided into
several small focks, housed separ ately.
One hundred hens divided into four
colonies of twenty-five each will do
much better than the same hundred
a IN 10
FIVE seems to be the ideal number for
A colony, though many poultrymen pre-
fer to divide their flocks into colonies
Of fifty. OF course. if the flock is {,
really large one-that is. if it contains
1000 to 1000 hens or more-lt will be
impracticable to divide the flock into
colonies of twenty-five. or even of fifty
hens. But the results in eggs will not
| be is great as when the colonies are
smaller. Egg yields of rs per cent and
even as high as IS per cent are of fire.
quent occurrence in small fiocks, but
the flocks of 1000 or more that make
an average of more than 40 per cent
are extremely rare.
Maryland poultrynan whose home
is not far from one of Washington
big country clubs has arranged to
! obtain all the table refuse from the
club, which he feeds to his fowls. The
refuse and table scraps are saved for
him in galvanized iron garbage cans,
and he calls for the feed every day,
thus being assured that it does not
| The refuse contains much material
such as meat trimmings and scraps.
| bread, pastry, etc, as well as cooked
! vegeta bles, cereals and the like. He
runs the feed through a large food
grinder at his home. and then mixes
1t with enough wheat bran to make n
dry, crumbly mash. Needless to say,
the hens go after this kind of feed
hn ttayf s,tyt< hn
healthy condition of the fowls. as well
as the extraordinary yield of big.
meaty eggs, is added proof of the
| statement that table scraps make the
very best poultry feed. The high
fertility of the eggs laid by this mans
| breeders and the strength and vigor
of the chicks Matched from them show
still more strongly the value of such
feed. The best feature of 1t is that
the feed costs this man nothing but
| going after it, and he also sells eggs
at the top of the market to the club.
AS the pullet approaches full growth
by the careful selection of food they
may be FASTENED or retarded toward
maturity, and generally early maturity
is sought. However, in some cases
where the birds have been Matched
early egg production may begin natur-
ally along in August or September, but
in these cases there is danger that the
birds will mott prematurely, which Will
then stop egg production, which is not
usually resumed again until late in the
winter AS a rule, it is not desirable
that pullets should begin laying be-
fore early October and IL you find them
laying before this time they may be
retarded by constantly shifting them
into new quarters and also by emitting
from their rations any fat-forming
foods.
A poultryman whose sole aim is to
| produce the largest number of market
eggs can in a way ignore many points
which the breeder finds of vital i'm
portance. To the winter egg producer
!, the following factors must be given
considerable attention, IL success is to
. attend ones efforts Exercise, outdoor
! runs, stimulating diet, ample floor
space. The methods here outlined will
apply exclusively to the handling OF
fowls for the production of the largest
possible number of eggs at the season
when eggs will bring in the highest
prices, and must not be considered in