Norwich bulletin., 1918-07-03
AVOID INCUBATION AND BROOD LOSSES IN POULTRY
 KEEPING.
Cannot Be Entirely Overcome But
 Can Be Greatly Reduced.


 Faulty incubation and chick nor tality is the greatest economic loss in the poultry industry today, In nor nal times, the failure to successfully lncubate eggs and brood chicks has driven more men out of the poultry business than any other factor. In our present food shortage emergency, the importance of avoiding unneces- sary incubation and breeding losses is more important than normally. It is a great economic loss to place in an incubator eggs that are not from well selected strong. vigorous breeding stock; that do not stand a good chance of matching out strong. viz orous chicks. It is also a great eco- homie loss to feed good grain to fn- ferior chicks that will at best make only poor market poultry and cull bullets if they are fortunate enough 10 live at all
 During the spring of 1915 and 1916, incubation and brooding figures were obtained from 154 farms in Connecti cut where bacillary white -diarrhea in- fected breeding had been remo7Fd by means of the agglutination test. A total of 394, 143 eggs were incubated and 1s6.460 chicks, or SGT per cent. of the eggs were matched The average hatch for the state would not be ovtr 20 per cent. The; total number of eggs incubated in Connecticut in a normal season is about 5000 060 A 90 per cent. hatch means that 2,500000 eggs are. a partial or total loss each season. At four cents each, which is 2 very conservative value foN eggs during the breeding season., 2.500 900 eggs are worth Sl00, 900. 4 small part of this loss is being overcome through the use of infertile eggs for human consumption. This practice however, is not as common as it should be.
 The chick mortality on these 154 farms for the first three weeks was 1882 chicks or -0.2 per cent If we consider chick mortality on state wide basis in the average flock up to nroiler age. it would not be less than 10 per cent. A 20 per cent. loss of the -2.500. coo chicks in Connecticut during a normal season equals 500.000 chicks. As many of the chicks lost, eat con- siderable food before they die, aside from the expense of incubation and breeding. their cost cannot be figured at less than twenty cents, or a total loss of s100 o0O
 The incubation and breeding losses totaling approximately S20G.O0O cannot Of course he entirely overcome but they can be materially decrea sed. Better methods of feed care and man agement from the time the breeding stock is mated until the chicks are well feathered out would reduce the loss at least one-half, thus affecting a saving of t10o.0 which the poul- try industry has been suffering as a doss each season. The success in re- fa ., bends on the effor [ of each and every poultryman.
 l. is. of course. folly to use for breeders any birds, male or female which are not strong vigorous dnd healthy or which do not carry the characteristics which we wish tc reproduce in the offspring-
 It is much better to use only year ling birds or older which have dem nnStrated their value as egg producers by passing the severe culling which was practiced everywhere last sum mer and fall If birds must be se- lected without knowledge of past pro. duction, only vigorous. healthy birds showing ievidence of present pro- duction should be used.
 Pullets may be used for breeders o1 necessary and the fertility and hatch ability Of their eggs may he nearly equal to old hens, hut the chicks are not as large and do not, as d rule show high vitality
 When selecting male bird. choose well matured individual. and ont with ap abundance of life and activ. it?- Activity on the part of the nal. IS absolutely necessary for feTtil, eggs. If it is desirable to build LID tn, size of the flock select extra larg, females. It is usually considered best 10 mate cockerel with old hen! and a. cock bird with bullets. Mat, one male to ten or twelve females il tho American breeds and one male t, twelve to fifteen females in the Med ;terranean breeds. The number of fe males may be increased in either cas later in the season when the birds ar n range. The breeding pens shoul he mated from two 0 three weeks he fore eggs are savE for matching.
 The exact grain ard mash ration used for feeding breeders is not S important. provided an excess of pro -9i1 is not fed. and tho birds are kep busy and active. Green food is c vital importance and should be fe loNraIv. IL is advisable to keep tn door Of the breeding pen open regard less of the weather. and let the bird riln iG and out at will. This ma tightly reduce egg production. bu the incubation and hrooding will | enough more successful to make Il 7he difference.