Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-04-24
DON'T KEEP FOWLS
THAT FAIL TO YIELD
Witout Trapnests One Must Re-
ly Upon Physical Signs-Pel-
vic Bone Tests-BrOOdiness
Must Be Discouraged Prompt
ly to Prolong Egg Production
(By Fl. Armstrong Roberts)


taker often failure. They increase feed
bills; they reduce egg-laying averages;
they occupy valuable housing accom-
modations; they loaf and sometimes start
bad habits among the other birds; they
are good for nothing-except as meat.
Consign them to this purpose.
Get rid of the drones. Show 'em the
gate, and then the axe. Unless he is run
ming charitable institution, no poultry
man can afford to keep single fowl that
fails to pay it's board--and some besides.
The out and out Gull or runt is easy to
detect. 1t is usually understood dis
maybe crippled, II not in
body. at least in the head. which Is in
dictated by crow-like head and beak.
AS rule it is degenerate. Enough said.
Unfortunately, all low-producers and
non-producers are not culls in the sense
that they are physical insists. That is to
say, they are not necessarily deformed
or bad-lookng. On the contrary. many
of them are of the right size in good
flesh and thrifty-looking. Such speci-
mems require close observation and keen
discrimination on the part of the care
taker unless the quarters are blessed
with a system of trap nests, which, of
course, expose all secrets in short order.
formation. They constitute the 'intelli-
gence department" of the henyard.
INDICATIONS OF PAYING HEN
Without trap nests the poultry keeper
must rely upon his knowledge of the
habits and physical characteristics Of his
hens He must observe closely, and be
able to identify his observations. No
hard and fast rules can be laid down for
this work, though the following points
should be kept in mind:
The heavy-laying hen is the first off
the perch in the morning and the last to
go to roost at night. She is active. alert
hustler, always in search of food be-
cause she is greatly in need Of it to sup
ply materials for her reproductive
organs. She will forage farther. scratch
harder, cackle louder. loaf less and drink
more than the lOw-producng members of
the flock. Her comb may not be a brill
liant red, because heavy-laying hens are
inclined to have a pinkish comb; but the
comb must not be shrveled nor anemic-
looking. 1t must be of good size, usually
large. of firm texture. and fairly thick
where it joins the head. The comb must
have substance to it. Beware Of hens
which have combs scarcely thicker than
cardboard, also birds with shriveled
combs.
Other egg-laying characteristics are
long bodies in proportion to their depth
wide brests, which permit Of generous
crop capacity; depth in the keel and
breadth between the legs. which gives
strength and room for the egg organs
For some years experiments have been
conducted to determine if color, or lack
/ of 1t, in the beak, shanks and earlobes
can be taken as an indication of laying
ability. Apparently, the claim that
where the color is absent from beak and
/ legs, and the cream white of the ear
lobes is changed to snow white. marks
the heavy layer, is correct, while the
reverse of these conditions indicates a
poor layer.
| In virtually all of the yellow skinned
breeds of chickens the shanks. beak and
/ flesh of the posteriOr parts of the birds
are rich yellow at the commencement
Of laying, and gradually undergo a fad
ing out process as the laying progresses,
until these parts become a real pale
color. sometimes pink or white, as the
laying season advances.
COLOR GOES INTO EGGS
The theory of this change is based or
the simple fact that the same colorine
matter which gives the shanks. beak
and skin its rich yellow look Is also used
in the color Of the yolSs of eggs Heavy
layers produce eggs faster than they
can supply the coloring matter for the
shanks beak and so on, consequently the
color in these parts becomes lighter anG
lighter. until it is frequently scarcely
visible
Then. too, hens that are not in laying
condition are prone to store up n certain
amount of fat. sometimes a very large
amount of it, especially in the region
surrounding the vent, and this fat beinl
of rich yellow color. transmits its color
to the flesh. When such hens start tC
lay and lay heavily this fat is drawn
upon to supply the body tissues with thu
necessary energy, until its supply II
virtually depleted. in which case the ski
loses most of its former rich yellow ap
pearance.
In selecting hens by the color test al
lowances must be made for the natura
difference In color between dfferen
. breeds and different individuals of tn
same breed. For example. it is mani
testify unreasonable to compare the colo
of Rhode Island Red or Barred Ply
mouth Rock with a White Orpington o
White Leghorn. The color test should b.
I made relatively and with the exercis
, of much common sense.
An examination should be made at tn
, commencement of laying. and not durinl
r the mott or when the birds are immature
and the degree or shade of color care
fully noted. Later. when the foe
should be laying heavily, say about tn
middle of April, the color Is observes
again. and the hens which have little O
no color In the parts mentioned may b
selected as the best layers.
To prove this, II you have any bird
t which are noticeably yellower than tn
others. transfer them to a separate pei
, and note If they are not poor layers
/, If you have trap nests. these ideas ar
> easily verified.
PELVIC BONE TESTS
The genral shape Of the laying he
is agreed upon as q ''V' or wedge whe
viewed from the top, side and rear, tn
supposition being that In this conforma
, , ton the egg producing organs have tn
+, greatest opportunity for development
, This shape is sometimes called by tn
term Capacity" which really amount
TO abdominal power.
Capacity means the ability of the GRO
and digestive tract to receive, consum
and assimilate large quantities OF foot
8 Continuous egg production is an inten
n sive. exhausting process. Its necess
4 tates the consumption of vast quantite
( | OF food, otherwise It would be impossibl
Tor hen to turn out an egg day. BE
T. I'