The Clovis news., 1921-07-21
FARM NOTES
culIinr Your Poultry Flock

the flock and be able to Gull out non
producers. A careful study of a
few points to be considered will en-
able a poultryman to Gull his own
flock. You can be sure Of your ac-
curacy in culling the flock by sep
arating the culls from the producers
and keep both hocks for a period of
a week or ten days noting the pro-
duction of each bunch.
Nine Poines to Consider in Culling
out Non-Producing Hens
During July and August great
many hens finish their producing
period for the year AT this time
effective culling of the flock may
be done by observing these body
characters which vary with egg pro-
duction. The nine points of indca-
ton as numbered on Illustrations
give at this time Of the year definite
information as to the value Of the
hen as an egg producer.
The Vent loses its yellow
color with two to three weeks Of
laying. A loose moist vent means
that the hen is producing eggs. A
tight dry vent means that the hen
has discontinued laying at that time.
The Eye Ring, the inner edge
of the eyelids, require from one to
two weeks longer to bleach out than
the vent.
Far Lobes Of the MEDITERRANEAN
breeds require few days longer TO
lose the yellow or fat coloring than
the eye ring.
The Beak will lose its yellow
color from the base toward the tip.
A bleached beak indicates that the
hen has been in production from
four to six weeks. Frequently a
light or bleached band will be noticed
midway between the base and tip
Of the beak This indicates that the
hen had been in production for a
short period and then had stopped,
which permitted the yellow to begin
coming. back into the beak. begin-
ming at the base and pushing the
bleachcd portion in front Of it,
The Lower Mandible may be
used in place Of the upper mandible
for birds where the upper mandibe
is black or horn However, the
period Of bleaching for the lower
mandible is one or two weeks short
er than the period Of the upper man
dible.
The Shank bleaches out slow
en- than any Of the other points and
a pale or boachcd shank therefore
indicates production for period Of
fifteen to twenty weeks. The color
of the sharks leaves from the scale
on the front Of the shank towards
the back of the shank, therefore a
hen with the front of the shank
bleaehed and the rear yellow would
be considered as hen having pro.
duced for a period not to exceed the
ten weeks just passed
Comb, Wattles and Ear Lobes
indicate the activity of the
ovary, Comb, wattles and ear
lobes that are fully expanded, hard,
plump, full and smooth indicate that
the hen is in heavy production. A
shriveled and dried comb with pale
or pink to white color indicates an
inactive ovary and therefore a non
producing hen. A limp comb, but
one that is not dried down, indicates
that the hen is coming back into
production after a period of rest.
The Abodmen is diated soft
The pelvic arches being well spread
and the keel forced down from the
pelvic bones giving greater capacity.
Heavy production is indicated by the
quality of the skin and the condition
of the pelvic arches. A soft velvety
skiing and pliable pelvic arches indi-
cate heavy production. Stiff pelvic
arches and coarse rough skiing un-
derlald with much fat indicates non.
production.
The Scales on the heel or rear
hook joint indicate the natural color
OF the shanks. These scales do not
bleach and by a comparison, using
these as an index, it may be determ-
med to what extent the shanks have
bleached thru production.
Culling by this method must be
done before the mott begins When
the mott begins the color of the skin.
shanks, beak, etc, again becomes
normal.
The Frenehman's Farm Bnrea,