The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-08-28
by MRS. JOHN G. MOSES
General Delivery. Mississippi City, MisN

by MRS. JOHN e. MOSES
General Delivery, Mississippi City, Miss.
Sherlock Holmes used high-powe mi
croscopes, chemicals, finger print rec
ords and rogues' gallery photos in round
ing up offenders against justice The
poultry owner must rely chiefly on the
past production records of the fowl as
well as on their external appearance.
condition and general conformation. in
his task of separating the chaff from
the wheat. 1t is essential that he go
through the flock between August Is and
September IS and make a thorough Gull
ing, discarding all the Improbable pro-
ducers so they may not be parasitic on
the profits of the flock during the sea-
son when range is not available and the
expenses of feeding the birds are cor
respondingly increased
AS a rule the hens which have stopped
laying by the middle of August or Sep
TENDER are the poorest producers in the
flock and, consequently, will be the low
est yielders in successive seasons. Hence
it is necessary to rid the flock of such
lazy drone in order that the better pro-
ducers may be favored in care feed and
general poultry management.
WHEN TEST is BEST
Specialists say that the best and most
easily applied test to ascertain the best
10y iilS IONl Is the Ndle Nncn the mems
begin to mott. Most hens. when they
start to mott. stop laying, or nearly
cease egg production. Furthermore, 1t is
easy to examine the plumage of each
hen in order to ascertain whether any
pin feathers or partially grown feathers
are shown. In case the hen is through
noting, the poultryman can convince
himself of that condition by the pres
ence of clean, unworn plumage.
To 1Al |F H. l. ,,s1s-
the color of the legs is some indication
of good producing capacity and persist
ency, the hens tend to lose their
bright yellow color as the laying season
progresses. Good producers usually have
white or pale yellow legs during the
late summer and early fall, while poor
producers will show straw -oolored or
medium yellowish legs. If the flock has
access to good grass range, the birds,
as a rule, will maintain their leg color
longer than where there is little grass
or where only bare yards are provided.
Accordingly. on the grass range not
as much Importance is given to leg
color.
COMB is AN INDICATOR
The color of the beak applies along sim
liar lines, except that it disappears and
rea ppears more rapidly than the pigment
in the legs. Furthermore, the appear
ance of the comb is an indication of
whether or not the hen is laying. The
bird with the red comb, which is full of
blood and thoroughly expanded. usually
is laying, while the fowl having comb
which is smaller, shrunken and dull red
in color, harder and covered with whittier
scales, is ordinarily not laying. Gen
orally speaking, a laying hen usually
shows greater distance between the pei
vic bones, two bones which are felt as
points on either side of the back. In
the case of hens which are laying, the
pelvic bones feel thinner and more flex-
ble, while there is a spread of two
fingers or more between them. small
err spread usually indicates that the
hen is not laying