Arizona republican., 1922-03-19
GIVES RULES FOR
IMPROVING FLOCK

Some Salt River valley poultrymen
make their flocks average IL to 10
dozen eggs a year. The census fig
ures indicate that the general pro-
duction of the farm flocks is about
five dozen. This is a difference of
seven to ten dozen eggs year. As
suming that half of this difference
is due to lack Of proper feed and
care, then we would still have a pos
sible improvement of three and half
to five dozen eggs year. This. OF
course, supposes that the best OF feed
and care is given; then the margin
of three and a half TO five dozen
eggs would be clear profit, and at
an average of As cents a dozen, this
extra profit would amount to $1.57
to 1926. If the average price or eggs
was as low as 80 cents. we would
still have from 81 to $3.50 that might
be counted as velvet. and this extra
IL due to what? Just better stock.
One poultryman here. whom we
will not name at this time. handles
his chicks and laying stock In the
very best possible manner from start
to finish, that is. from the time of
brooding the day old chicks to feed
ing and handling the layers. He has
made his flock average high. Last
year he obtained his chicks from
different source, handled them In the
same way and did everything in the
same manner that had in the past
resulted in heavy laying stock, but
this season, in spite of the fact that
the early part of the winter was mild,
egg production from these pullets has
been unusually low. What does he
attribute the trouble to? Inferior
stock.
Blood Tells
In poultry, just as true as in the
breeding of cattle, horses or hogs. the
first l4w OF breeding is "lilSe begets
like" There are reversions with the
best OF stock. throw backs to ancss-
tors many generations away. There
are sports or mutations that may be
better or worse than the parents but
one cannot in general breeding ex-
pect the progeny to be better than
both parents. In other words. II We
are breeding for egg production and
have pullets from hens that under
the best of care have laid 100 eggs
or less and the sire Of these pullets
is from hen of 100 eggs or less, We
cannot expect any considerable num-
ber of the pullets from such mating
to. be producers OF better than 100
eggs. Somewhere back in the gen
crations of breeding there may have
been an ancestor of one OF these that
has laid 200 eggs, and therefore thcre
may he a small percentage Of pullets
that woLld lay better than their par
ents. On the other hand. 1t is pretty
certain that there are generations Of
poor producers and that this inherited
tendency is the CT aracteristic OF the
flock that is most likely to be per-
petuated.
Surprising, how ever. that we have
pullets that are 100 egg producers
and from lines on 100 egg producers.
and we mate these pullets with
male from a 200-egg hen, that in turn
is from 200-egg ancestors. We then
have n reasonable right to suppose
and this is borne out by carefully
cCi auc,ed recor is OF similar mat
ings) that at lea 81 SO per cent of the
pullets .1f this nas.ng will ne 150 to
ccO-eyG hens. Tue Ees: re Grafton
will show a still more marked inn
provement and still larger percent
age of better layers.
This is all providing that the vital
ity OF the breeders has not been
sapped by disease or wasted from
lack of proper feed.
Selecting Breeders
Those who are maintaining their
own flocks by raising their own
chicks have a far better opportunity
to select their breeders and to make
Improvement than do those who buy
day-old chicks. Trap-nesting is, OF
course. the best and surest way OF
selecting the high layers. Not many
are so situated that they can trap
nest, and the next best method is
rigid culling by the Hogan system or
some other that will weed out the
nom producers. This is practical
means of selecting the best laying
stock.
Good laying stock is not the only
thing to select. for. in fact. it is only
one of the desirable qualifications of
breeding fowl. Breeders during
the past few years have followed a
popular demand and have made much
of the fact that they had an egg
laying strain: that is to say. some
breeders have, others have followed
the old system of exhibiting at shows
and advertising show birds and stock