The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-11-15


 animal husbandry division, bureau of animal industry, United States depart ment of Agriculture, and is of much interest now, as the government is urging mora poultry on the farms
 One of the prime essentials in poul- try breeding is to use only strong, vigorous, healthy stock. It is only by continuing to do this that flock can be built up which will have strength and vigor and which will produce strong, fertile eggs. strong chicks capable of making quick growth, and bullets with sufficient stamina to stand the strain of heavy egg production. The appearance of bird is not always a sure indication of it's vigor but appearance and ac- ton taken together are a fairly re- liable basis for picking out vigorous birds. The comb, face. and wattteS should have good. bright color; the eyes should be bright and fairly prom inent: and the head should be com paratiyely broad and short, not long and snaky OF crow headed The bird should be alert and have vigorous carriage The legs should be set well apart and strongly support the body, with no tendency to weakness or knock-kneed condition. The bone as seen in the shanks should be strong and not too fine for the breed The plumage should be clean and smooth. Lack of condition efTn accompanies soiled, roughened Plumage. Fowls that have been sick but apparently have recovered should not be used fof breeding if it can be avoided.
 Purpose of the Breeding-In select ing stock for the matings. the pur- pose of the breeding should be kept clearly in mind. If the desire IS to produce exhibition stock, birds should be selected that are nearest the stan dard in type and markings or that will combine their qualities to pro duce offspring most nearly approach ing the standard If the desire IS to produce table fowls. birds that have a body shape suitable for carrying an abundance of meat should be selected as breeders They should be broad ana deep of body, have good length poth of back and keel and especially q broad breast we'll covered with meat If the desire is to produce stock TOT eggs, birds should be chosen as far as possible that are good egg pro ducers or are the sons or dauShtcfs of good egg producers.
 Time to Mate-Matings should De made at least two weeks before begin ming to save eggs for hatching. II less time is allowed, the maximum ire tility is not likely to be assured It is often desirable to mate even far ther ahead than two weeks so that few eggs can be incubated for five or six days to see whether they are fer tile If these eggs are not fertile there is still time to change the male bird and thus insure fertile eggs for the earlier matches. MatiHgs should be made not later than February l.
 Size of Matings = The breed in- fluences the size of the matings. Cn- der yarded conditions it is usual and desirable to run from 12 to 15 fe- males of the lighter type such as the Leghorns. from 10 to 12 females of the general purpose type. such as the Plymouth Rocks. and from eight to ten females of the heaviest type. such as the Brahmas. with one male. Where the breeding fowls have free range and the male is strong and vigorous it is possible to obtain fertile eggs from a considerably larger flock Of females. A vigorous Plymouth Rock cockerel on free range should give good fertility when mated to 20 to 25 females. while a Leghorn male under the same con- ditions can be mated successfully to go to 70 females. If eggs for matching are desired from flock too large for single male to fertilize. two or more males can be run with it either at