The Washington herald., 1919-05-11
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No. .5-Poultry Mating and Feeding.
by GEORGE Il. HOWARD.


the breeding stock.
There is nothing much else to be
done with poultry unless the breeders
are there to deliver the goods.
Breeding pens should be places OF
energy and activity. and the breeders
should sparkle with vim and vigor.
High vitality is the keynote of the
breeding pen and IL vitality Is lacking
il Is best to forget the rest.
Please to remember that it is from
your breeding fowls that you are to
get the eggs from which you are to
hatch your youngsters of the future.
Therefore. it is important that the
breeders should show high vitality
to a marked degree. for without it a
hen will never become a good egg
producer.
Fowls with low vitality are weak.
badly developed. Improbable in pro-
duction. and ultimately prove a dead
loss to the keeper.
/ When the breeders are lacking in
vitality they do not utilize their food
economically and there Is always a
large percentage OF mortality in the
chicks.
Active fowls show plainly their ply
sical condition. while weak fowls are
droOpy. inactive. seldom scratch, and
do little, II any foraging.
1t is no difficult question to decide
between the high and the low in
poultry raising.
/ Properly mating the breeding stock
is as equally important as housing
and feeding. and the more thought
Mt civ
tials the better ii will he.
| There is standard for perfection
with poultry the same as with other
| live stock. and the more closely you
follow the points of excellence in
breeding the more beautiful and prac-
ticsl will be your results.
Avoid every disqualifying defect in
breeding. because inherited defects
are transmitted and increase in gravity
with each generation.
! Never take chances with sidesprigs
on combs, stub feathers on smooth
| legged birds. wry or twisted tails.
false plumage or badly shaped speci-
mems of any variety.
You cannot fiirt with these short
comings in poultry raising and come
out with colors flying.
The male bird influences the color
of the progeny. and when mating
solid colored birds. the color of the
breast of the male establishes the color
for back, breast and body of the fe-
male.
| Such color should be clear and even.
and all extremes in color should be
discarded. and the matter OF breeding
lies in the careful matching of color
as nearly as possible.
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penciled, spangled or other marked
specimens in the breeding pens mar
rows down to the careful selection OF
birds having these distinctive plu-
images to a marked degree of clear
ness and fineness as may be required
by their standard.
The male bird governs the color.
comb and characteristics or dis
tinguishing points of the breed gener-
ally or the variety in particular.
Along these lines the females trans
nit the form, size. the practical and
useful qualities OF the breed
Shape and size make the type OF a
breed. and the color distinguishes the
variety of same
When mating birds never use I'M
dersized females. they should weigh
as nearly as possible to their require
ments, or a trifie over, rather than
under weight.
A male bird sometimes is bred I'M
der weight to good advantage, pro-
vided the females are full-sized and
well developed.
1t is damaging to breed birds with
defective eye coloring as such defects
are generally reproduced in the pro-
geny.
A plan of mating that can generally
be recommended in breeding is to
mate fowls which may be defective in
any particular sections to those which
may have strong qualities in the
corresponding sections.
When following this plan OF mating
the chances are far better for equaliz-
ing or producing the medium result.
The age of the breeding fowls is
from one to four years old; only In
rare cases are fowls bred after they
have reached this age.
As a rule the strongest and best
chicks are produced from yearling
cockerels mated to hens from one to
two years old.
ON the other hand there are breed
ers who are partial to cocks mated to
pullets. This mating Is not generally
practiced excepting with the smaller
breeds Of fowls.
Owing to their apparent lack of
fertility cocks should not be used in
carly matings.
II is bad practice 10 mate fowls
that are closely related, as in-breed-
ing Is followed by deterioration in
size. shape and vitality.
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