The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1921-06-30

other parts. The yellow goes out from
the scales on the front of the shanks
first and finally from the scales on
the rear The scales on the heel or rear
hook joint are the jndex as to the ma
tural depth of yellow color of the bird
A bleached out shank usually indi-
Gates fairly heavy production for at
least fifteen to twenty weeks.
The yellow color comes back into
the vent, eyering, earlobe, beak and
shanks, in the same order that it went
out, only the color returns much
quicker than it goes out. A vacation
or rest period can sometimes be deter
mined by the tip Of the beak being
bleached and the base being yellow.
Body Changes Due to Laying.
"A laying hen has a large, moist
Vent showing a dilated condition and
looseness as compared with the hard,
puckered vent of non-laying hen.
The whole abdomen is dilated AS
well as the vent so that the pelvic
arches are widespread and the keel
is forced down, away from the pelvic
arches so as to give large capacity.
The more eggs bird is going to lay
the following week the greater will be
the size OF the abdomen. The actual
size of the abdomen is, of course, in
fluenced by the size of the eggs laid
and by the size of the bird.
Heavy production is shown by the
quality of the skin and the thickness
and stiffness Of the pelvic arches. Fat
goes out from the skin and body with
production SO that the heavy producers
have "a soft, velvety skin that is not
underlaid by layers of hard fat. The
abdomen in particular is soft and pill
able. The sternal processes are very
prominent and are generally bent out
ward. The thicker and blunter the
pelvic arches and the greater the a.
mount of hard fat in the abdomen,
the less the production or the longer
time since production.
''One of the finer indications, but
yet one of the most valuable In pick
ing the higher layer, is the fineness
of the head and the closeness and
dryness of feathering. The head of a
high layer is fine. The wattles and
earlobes fit close to the beak and are
not loose and flabby. The face is clean
cut. The eye is full, round and prom
inent, especially when seen from the
front. The high layer is thinner that
is, the feathers lie closer to the body
and after heavy production the oil
does not keep the plumage relatively
sleek and glossy, but the plumage be-
comes worn and threadbare.
Changes i'm Secondary Character
Comb, wattbes and earlobes enlarge
or contract, depending on the ovary.
If the comb, wattles and earlobes are
large, full and smooth, or hard and
waxy, the bird is laying heavily Ii the
comb is dried down, especially at molt-
ms II tlit COiUD Is WdFIu IT Is an
indication that the bird is coming back
into production
Melting.
when bird stops laying In the
summer she usually starts molting.
The later a hen lays in the summer
or the longer the period over which
she lays. the greater will be her pro-
duction, so that the high producer is
the late layer and hence the late mott
er. The length Of time that a hen has
been molting or has stopped laying
can be determined by the molting of
the primary feathers. 1t takes about
six weeks to completely renew the pri-
mary feathers next to the axial fea-
theirs and an additional two weeks for
each subsequent outer primary to be
renewed.
"A good layer is more active and
nervous and yet more easily handled