South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-04-21

not IN position To Trap MS birds.
since a knowledge Of them may en-
able him 10 select the highest pro-
ducers and thereby increase the eff
cheney OF his flock
Until recent years the general
shape and confirmation Of a layer
was considered OF special value in
determining the probable production
OF the bird. Even at the present time
there are quite a number OF breeders
who hold that these external charac-
teristics are of much value i'm select
ing high-producing hens. According
10 the standard that has been devised
Tor this selection, the ideal bird must
be wedged OF N-shaped when viewed
from the top. side or rear. From the
top view the back should form the
wide end Of the Y; the side view
should show the wide end at the
rear; and the rear view the same
as the side. When bird conforms
TO this N-shaped type the supposition
s. that the abdominal regions. where
the organs OF production are located,
are well developed, thus making pos
sible high production.
other points Of Importance in Sc
leCting by conformation and type
are first, length of body In the ideal
bird the body should be long so that
It shows heavy development in the
rear Second. large comb and wat
ties Of bright red color: third. tail
carried high rather than low; fourth.
head of medium size with short
beak; fifth legs short. strong and
well spread; and sixth. size, which
means that the birds must be we'll up
to the size and weight Of the breed
which they represent.
While the results Of numerous in
designations have proven with more
OF less certainty that a hen may con-
form to the above requirements and
still fail TO be good producer. it is
logical 10 assume that birds which
possess these qualities and at the
same time manifest the other char
Bcteristics discussed i'm the article.
should be better fitted for heavy pro-
duction than the hens which do not
conform TO the egg type require
mcnts.
Early Layers and Late MOltcrs.
The pullets that begin 20 lay early
u life. say from Nov. 1 up 10
Thanksgiving, i'm the majority of
Eases turn out 10 be good producers.
In q test conducted by the writer.
zoe per cent of the pullets producing
200 or more eggs laid their first egg
during November I'm the same ex-
pertinent practically 30 per cent of
the pulets which laid less than 100
e-gs. did not lay their first egg until
January. and over 20 per cent of
hem laid their first egg during Feb
ruary and March. These figures are
from trap-nest records OF the blrcs
and clearly indicate that the early
producer is the heavy layer
The practical lesson 20 he gained
from these figures is that the pro-
gres-ive poultry keeper who is not N
a position 10 trap his birds, Will
watch his pullets i'm the fall and
mark the early producers so that he
will be able 20 pick them out the
following year for the breeding pen.
such a practice does not necessarily
mean that all the birds he selects
will Law 200 or more eggs. but il is
IogicaI 20 assume that the majority
Of them will be good performers
Early production is not the only
Indication that the poultry keeper
should rely on in the selection Of
good layers. II is but one Of several
characteristics at his command to
check up the probable production OF
mis- birds AlT early layere that are
marked can he observed to deter
mine whether they mott early or
ate. Trap-nest records show that
The high performers usually molt
ate
The writer recalls an incident Of a
2O0-egg hen that did not mott until
cold winter weather set in. She shed
her feathers so rapidly that il was
necessary 10 keep her in "a fairly
warm room 10 protect her from the
cold. The boarder hens usually have
new coat of feathers and look like
he finest birds i'm the flock when the
hard- working layers are ragged and
covered with pin-feathers Appear
ance in this instance do not count for
much. since the worst looking hens
are quite apt 20 be the most profit
able
Observations made in connection
with trap-nest records showed that
none Of the birds which were half
through the mott by oct 1 were
good producers. also that only a
small percentage OF the late molters
were poor producers. It is believed
rs some that late molters do not be-
gin laying until late I'm the following
year. Actual records. however. do not
substantate this belief since they
show that the late molters mott
quickly and begin 20 law as soon as
the early molters. or sooner.
Big Eaters Arc Heavy Layers
tbs appetite and general actions