Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-12-26
Maintaining Standard Flock

standard variety? Why not select
your chickens so as to insure your
self profitable income What is
the use of feeding lot of drones?
Is this being done on many of our
farms? Assuredly it is. In fact, the
chickens kept by the great majority
or our landowners do no more than
earn their living. They are not add
ing anything to the permanent in
come of the family. They have not
proven to be producers of net
source of revenue. How can we
overcome this difficulty? Very large.
ly by culling the flock. Prof. A. F.
Cannon, Georgia State College of
A Agriculture, suggests that if culling
is done properly, substantial bene-
fits will accrue to majority of
those who are now keeping chickens
but have neglected to put this i'm
portant matter into practice on their
farms.
Now is the time to Gull your flock
and get ride of all producers.
While cull:ng should be practiced
throughout the year, killing Tor
home use or otherwise disposing Of
undesirable individuals whenever
discovered. July, August and Sep
TENDER are the three best months
for thorough, systematic culling. At
this time of the year one can tell
very accurately which have been
the heavy laying hens and which
are the loafers. Get rid of the loaf
ers They eat just about as much
as the heavy layers, and are not
paying their board.
Young stock are coming on ana
need plenty of range-the more the
better. So it is advisable to Gull
out everything that you do not ex-
pect to keep over another season.
and make room for the youngsters.
Get rid of all surplus males, both
old and young, and dispose OF your
oldest hens which have past the
period of best production. 1t is sell
dom profitable to keep Leghorn
longer than three seasons, and
Barred Rock or Rhode Island Red
longer than two seasons. Give the
young ones a chance.
In culling, SIX factors should be
considered:
1. Deformities and serious de-
fects.
2. Constitutional vigor.
8. Capacity.
4. Moult.
5. fermentation.
6. Pelvic bones.
DEFoRMITIEs AND SERIOUS
DEFECTS: While a crooked PACK
might not affect the number OF
eggs a hen VIII lay, a bird OF TINS
kind should never be bred from,
and if she is not laying, it is good
tine to get rid of her. Similarly
with other defects, such as deform-
ed toes, crooked breast BONE wry
tail, etc. Send them to market.
CONSTITUTIONAL VIGOR - A
bird to be a good producer should
he well and strong and have plenty
of vitality. She should not sho"
any signs of weakness OF OF at any
time having been sick. A bird OF
moor constitutional vigor viii usually
have a long beak, dull eye and 4
"crow" head. She will be lazy, ia
active and wild.
CAPACITY-The body capacity IN
dicates ability to digest and asslml-
late large quantities of food. A hen
that is a good layer, mus. be sooo
eater. and she must have plenty OIL
room to handle a large amount OF
food and transform it into eggs. the
body capacity may be determined by
placing the hand across the abdom'
inal region and measuring the dis
lance between the pelvic bones anu
the keel or breast bone. y good
layer will measure from four to SIX
fingers while the poor layer may nCt
measure more than one or Two. This
will vary somewhat, however. with
the SIZE of the breed. 1t Will also
vary with the same indy .6ua, at
different times. A laying hen Will
usually measure one finger more
than she will when not laying.
MOULT-The early moulter is the
moor layer and should be culled out.
The hen that has completed, or is
we'll into her moult in July vi Au'
pust can be considered as of little
value as an egg producer. On the
other hand, the hen that waits ti'l
the last minute before cold weather
in October and November and 3-ops
her feathers all at once and appears
for a time almost naked is PROBABLY
one of your best producers.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES of the best
methods of telling the past perform
ance of a hen is by the amount OF
color pigment in her body. When a
hen begins to lay the color pigment
in various parts of her body begins
tn fade-frst at the vent, the eye
lids. ear lobes, beak, beginning at the
base and gradually extending on out
to the tir, and last the snanhs. tTAls
APPLIES to yellow-legged breeds only)
The color will fade from the velit
after she has laid three or four eggs,
and after she has laid as many as
thirty or forty, all the yellow color
should be out of the beak. The
shanks are the slowest to bleach and