The sun., 1918-12-01

part Of the upper beak. The lower
beak bleaches faster than the upper.
but NAV be used where the upper Is
obscured by horn or black. On the
average colored, yellow skinned bird,
a bleached beak means heavy produc-
ton for at least the past four to SIX
weeks.
The shanks are the slowest to
bleach out and hence indicate a much
longer period Of production than the
other parts. The yellow color goes
out from the scales on the front OF
the shanks first and finally from the
scales on the rear. The scales on the
heel of the shank are the last to bleach
out and may generally be used as an
index as to natural depth OF yellow
color Of the bird. A bleached out
shank usually indicates fairly heavy
production for at least fifteen to twenty
weeks.
The yellow color comes back into
the vent, eyering. earlobes. beak ana
shanks in the same order that 1t went
out, only the color returns much more
quickly than It goes out. A vacation
or rest period can sometimes be de-
termined by the outer end of the beak
being bleached and the base being
yellow.
A laying hen has large, moist vent
showing a dilated condition and loose
ness as compared with the hard,
puckered vent OF a non-laying hen.
The whole abdomen Is dilated as
we'll as the vent 30 that the pelvic
arches are widespread and the keel
is forced down. away from the pelvic
arches so as to give large capacity.
The more eggs a bird is going to lay
the following week, the greater will
be the size of the abdomen. The
actual size of the add omen IS, Of
course. influenced by the size of the
eggs laid and by the size Of the bird.
Heavy production is shown by the
quality of the skin and the thickness
and stiffness of the pelvic arches. Fat
goes out from the skin and body with
production, so that the heavy pro-
ducers have soft velvety skin that
Is not underlaid by layers Of hard fat.
The abdomen in particular is soft and
pliabe. The sternal processes are
very prominent and are generally bent
outward. The thicker and blunter the
pelvic arches and the greater the
amount Of hard fat in the abdomen,
the less the production or the longer
the time since production.
One Of the finer distinctions but
yet one of the most valuable indica-
lions in picking the high layer is the
fneness OF the head and the closeness
and dryness of feathering. The head
Of a high layer is fine. The wattles
and earlobes fit close to the back and
are not loose and fiabby. The face is
clean cut. The eye is full, round and
prominent. especially when seen from
the front. The high layer is trimmer;
that Is, the feathers lie closer to the
body, and after heavy production the
oil does not keep the plumage re!a-
lively as sleek and glossy but the plu-
mage becomes worn and threadbare.
The comb. wattles and earlobes en-
large or contract, depending on the
ovary. II the comb. wattles and ear
lobes are large, full and smooth, or
hard and waxy the bird is laying
heavily. If the comb is limp the bird
is only laying slightly but is not lay
ing at all WREN the comb is dried down,
especially at moulting time. If the
comb is warm it is an indication that
the bird is coming back into produc-
ton.
When a bird stops laying in the
summer she usually starts moulting