The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1920-12-16

Frc- Neei &c Pelvic Bones N &c
-Cun TIE slsckers- is the slogan Of
the sDccsssful poultry man Of today.
AL turi-E the year be weeds out the
SEX tie weak and those which show
syi6e1ces II nOnproductive weakness
or poor vitality; but before cold
weather sets In the whole flock Is Civ
81 q careful systematic culling. Gull
Ing serves three purposes poultry spe-
cialis-s Of the United States depart
Deui of agriculture say. First. II in
c-tzses the profits by insurlng that the
feed viii be consumed by the better
producing bens. the profit payers. and
uill not be consumed by the poor pro-
ducers. Ehich are kept 81 loss. Sec
ond. Il makes IL possible 10 save those
best suited for breeders. both on ac-
count of their better production and on
account ef their superior strength and
vitality, which have enabled them to
stand Up under the severe strain Of
heavy laying. Third. wedding out the
poor hen gives more room and bet
ter chance TO those left. Where trap
nesting Is practieed. culling is COM
paratively simple process. as the re
corded egg record enables one TO de-
terrnine whether a hen should he re-
tained or discarded
Market Poor Producers
The hens should be hsndIed lndivid-
ually and gone over carefully with the
object Of dividing them into two lots
one the better producers and the 9th
er the poorer producers From the
better producers II is also desirable
TO pick out and band. or otherwise
mark. as many OF the test as viii be
needed for breeders. Market those Sc
lecied as the poor producers. Save the
better producers for laying and breed
ing.
When a single systematic culling Is
made. the best time TO do Il Is In early
fall At this time II IS easier to form
q close estimate OF the relative value
OF a hen as an egg producer and to
weed out the poor layers. Hens that
show Indications Of laying az this time
are those which on the average have
been the better producers for the year.
II must be remembered. too. that the
better producers during the first lay
ing year are usually those which will
be the better producers in subsequent
years
Best Test of Production.
Melting Is probably the most valua-
be and most easily applied test of pro-
duction. Hens cease laying complete
ly. or almost completely. during the
molt The better producers lay late
in the fall and therefore molt late.
Late molters also molt rapidly as a
rule. while early molters molt slowly.
Therefore. save the hens that have not
molted by August or are only just be-
ginning 10 molt late in September or
in October, and discard those which
have finished molting or are well into
the moli. The hens that molt latest.
provided they are otherwise desirable,
are the best to save for breeders.
As hen stops laying there is tend
ency for her 10 take OH fat. This is no
tlceable In examining the pelvic bones.
the two bones which can be felt rs
points on either side Of the vent. When
the hen is laying. these bones are COM
paratively thin and flexible. When she
Is not laying. they feel thicker and less
flexible. due 10 the fat which has accu-
mulated there. Often poor producers
are somewhat beefy In type, showing
sitter, thicker pelvic bones. even when
In laying condition. than do good pro-
ducers. The spread, or distance apart.
OF the pelvic bones Is also a valuable
indication whether the hen is laying.
When laying they are wider apart than
when the hen Is not laying. The
spread can be roughly measured for
practical purposes by determining how
many fingers can he laid between the
bones. II the spread measures two
fingers or less. the probabilities are
that. the hen Is not laying. while II the
spread is greater. she is probably lay
ing.
Fowls 10 Gull.
In brief. Gull hens that are sick,
weak. lacking vigor inactive. poor
eaters. early nolfers. with small. puck
cred. hard. dry vents: with small.
shriveled. hard. scaly. dull-colored
combs: with thick or coarse stiff pei
vic homes. close together. small spread
between pelvic bones and rear end of
keel. and hard. small abdomen. In
breeds with yellow skin and shanks,
the discarded hens should also show
yellow or medium yellow shanks and
yellow henks and vents.