News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1921-01-05

"Cull the slackers" is the sIogan Of
the success III poultry man of today.
All during the year he weeds out the
SICK. the weak and those which show
evidences of nonproductivc weakness
or poor vitality; but before cold
weather sets in the whole flock is Civ
en- Il careful systematic cuIling. Gull
in. serves three purposes, poultry spe-
cialsts of the United States depart
ment of agriculture say. First, it in
creases the profits by insuring that the
feed will be consumed by the better
producing hens, the profit payers, and
will not be consumed by the poor pro-
ducers, which are kept at loss. Sec
ond, it makes it possible to save those
best suited for breeders, both on ac-
count of their better production and on
account of 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 practiced, culling is COM
paratively simple process, as the re-
corded egg record enables one to de-
termine whether a hen should be re-
tanned or discarded.
Market Poor Producers.
The hens should be handled individ-
ually and gone over carefully with the
object of dividing them into two lots
one the better producers and the 9TH
err the poorer producers. From the
better producers it is also desirable
to pick out and band, or otherwise
mark, as many of the best as will be
needed for breeders Market those Sc
lected 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 IT is In early
fall. At this time it is easier to form
a close estimate of the relative value
of a hen as an egg producer and to
weed cut the poor layers. Hens that
show indications of laying at this time
are those which on the average have
been the better producers for the year.
It 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.
Noting is probably the most valua-
BILE and most easily applied test of pro-
duction. Hens cease laying complete
ly, or almost completely, during the
mott. The better producers lay late
in the fall and therefore mott late.
Late molters also mott rapidly as a
rule while early molters mott slowly.
Therefore, save the hens that have not
molted by August or are only just be-
ginning to mott late in September or
in October, and discard those which |
nave finished melting or are well into |
the molt The hens that mott latest, |
provided they are otherwise desirable, |
are the best to save for breeders.
As hen stops laying there is tend
ency for her to take on fat. This is no
ticeable in examining the pelvic bones,
the two bones which can be felt as
points on either side Of the vent. When
the hen is laying, these bones are COM
thin and flexible. When she
is not laying, they feel thicker and less
flexible, due TO the fat which has aecu-
mulated there. Often poor producers
are somewhat beefy in type, showing
sitter, thicker pelvic bones, even when
IN laying condition, than do good pro
1ucers. The spread, or distance apart.
Of the pelvic bones is also valuable
Indication whether the hen is laying.
When laying they are wider apart than
when the hen is not laying. The
,pread can he roughly measured for
IRA ctical purposes by determining how
many fingers can be laid between the
zones. If the spread measures two
myers or less, the probabilities are
hat the hen is net laying, while II the
pread is greater, she ia probably lay
ne.
Fowls to Gull.
In brief, Gull hens that are sick,
weak. lacking vigor, inactive, poor {
aters, early mofters. with small, puck 9
red, hard, dry vents; with small,
hard, scaly, dull-colored
ombs; with thick or coarse stiff pei I
ic bones, close together, small spread /
etween pelvic bones and rear end of
eel, and hard, small abdomen. In
reeds with yellow skin and shanks, C
be discarded .hens should also show s
elbow or medium yellow shanks and n
elbow beaks and vents. n
Save hens that are healthy, strong, {