The Ronan pioneer., 1917-10-26
ONLY BEST BIRDS
SHOULD BE KEPT
CUIr, FROM FLOCK ALL THAT
MAY PROVE UNPROF1T-
ABLE.
Choose Only Best Types, Eliminate
All Defolmed and Understood Ami
mails; Value of Poultry Produce
Makes 1t Necessary to give Flock
Greater Care.

Now is the time to go over the
flock and remove all of the excess
roosters and all OF the hens that DO
not run to form or give indications Of
being poor layers.
Do not keep excess males. Market
them as soon as they become large
enough and thoroughly fattened.
Feed is expensive and it is best to
get rid of them before Thanksgiving
time for then much poultry is ship
ped to market and the price is not
apt to be so good. This refers espec
tally to old males, those hatched in
1916 or before.
All hens which were poor layers
during the past season, especially in
the season of high prices, should be
disposed of for if the hens have been
given proper treatment and yet have
not proved productive in their first
year, it is not likely that they will
in their second year. If they have not
been in good health, they certainly
should not be kept anyway for sdch
stock is improbable on all counts.
AS a rule, hens over two years cid
dc not prove very profitable for egg
production or otherwise aud, except
in rare cases, it is best to dispose of
all hens which are two years or older.
Kill the Fat Hem.
Fat hens Or those that have been
overfat at any time since maturity,
probably have suffered from internal
injuries from the presence of the ex-
ira fat and this in turn will prevent
them from reaching their highest
usefulness as egg producers. 1t is
usually wisest, therefore, also to dis
pose of this class of stock when it is
in the best condition for market.
Have you any hens whose bodies
hang down behind, so as to nearly or
quite touch the ground? This is caus-
Ell by breaking down of the tissues
which support some of the internal
organs, or by the weight of surplus
fat, which has collected in that part
of the body. Although hens in this
condition sometimes continue to be
reasonably good layers, there is al
ways danger that they will not be
able to lay through the season and of
the development of disease.
When selecting young cockerels tC
the appearance and the plumage but
parent vigor, depth, width and length
of body and all the things which go
to make profitable as we'll as a
healthy and good-looking fowl.
In every flock of pullets there are
always few which are deficient in
one respect or another. No flock is
one hundred per cent perfect and
the number of culls Gas poultry-men
call the inferior specimens) varies
with the quality of the stock from
which they were produced and with
the care and feeding that they have
received.
Do Not Keep Small Pullets.
All the understood stock-pullets
that are too small for their age for
the breed to which they belong
should be disposed of because under
size frequently represents lack of
vigor and vitality, and undersized
pullets are never as profitable for
utility purposes.
Those which grow slowly and ma
ture slowly should also be weeded
out, for slow growers are usually
slow producers and seldom profitable
when fed high-priced foods. All weak
birds, whether constitutionally weak
or run down by i'll health, should be
weeded out early, for to feed such
pullets is waste of food.
Any deformity such as crooked
beaks, crooked breasts, crooked toes
or anything of that kind, ought to
constitute good reason for throwing
out any specimen and the sooner it
is done the more feed will be saved.