Gunnison news-champion., 1923-03-23

lar culling party. They had been Gull
ing hens since last fall until they had
nothing more to do but Gull the culls.
Some of them haven't anything left
now to Gull but a few left-overs they
are saving for noodle stew in blowing
time.
All the dear neighbors came and
in turn took pleasure in telling US just
how they managed the culling bust
ness. Our nearest neighbor gave the
FIRST lesson; she said all she did was
TO pick out the puliets that look sick.
She admitted her flock looked pretty
pert, but she culied those that looked
as tho they might get sick, and she
took out all the molters.
And not an egg has she had all
winter. But she has the satisfaction
of knowing she culled, and culled
early.
We looked over our boarders, but we
could not find any that looked as IL
they knew what illness was, or even
showed any symptoms.
The next friend to advise us said
she culled by looking mt the eyes. If
they were the least bit dull, she culled.
This struck US as very funny, for we
remember the prize woman cutler of
Colorado last fall was a blind woman.
We said nothing, and to be polite we
picked up Biddy and Susie and Daisy
and Blossom and Ruffles and Orphie,
and looked them straight in the face
with that "you'll-lay-or-die" express
sion. And bless their hearts, every
last one of 'em smiled and winked the
other eye as pert as you could wish.
However, my neighbor insisted that
she had culled pullets with eyes much
brighter than any possessed by our
boarders.
Following her advice, a few more
hens were worked over for slaughter.
Our neighbor on the hill had differ
ent plan; she didn't think the appear
ance of the eyes had thing to do
with the egg business. She did her
culling by feeling Of the henly flesh.
So she had all of US feeling the
muscles of our darling hens and the
dear patient things submitted resign
eddy to the squeezing, pinching and
pulling for quite some time. But when
We got thru. the poor dears were all
tired out; their eyes began to droop
and they really looked i'll and some OF
them actually Topped down too tired
to mount their padded perches.
Finally the party broke up. The
next morning we gave the whole flock
a nice breakfast, in fact, fed them all
we had on hand. The pretty creatures
ate with such relish, il made us sad
enough to weep when we thot of the
meals we were to cook no more. OF
late we had even camounaged the
frozen potatoes in way that they en-
joycd, and as for taking our SKINNED
milk-it mattered not To the dear
things whether it was sweet or sour.
They were so easily pleased. And the
way they ate our oat sprouts made
us forget the trouble it took To keep
the sprouting machine working, both
in and out of zero weather.
We planned to begin culling the
next morning about ten o'clock. AL
though none of the neighbors so full
of good advice were getting enough
eggs to clear their coffee, still they
insisted tina culling was the only thing
to do il one expected to run thriving
hennery.
So, at exactly ten sharp, we sailed
forth to Gull. Just at that moment the
weather began acting something ter
rible and sent down shower Of snow
in flakes as big as eggs--as near as
We could remember just what size eggs
grew. Then we realized it was going
to be some weeks before the boarders
could go-a-scratchin' for themselves
without getting their feet wet or
their combs frosted.We reverted to
ground hog day and found nothing in
the memory whatever to encourage US.
We certainly did! And we made
quick work of it. too. We didn't take
time to look for symptoms of impend-
ing Illness; neither did we look a
chicken in the eye, nor investigate the
firmness of their henly flesh. We
simply turned the whole flock into the
culling pen, then we faxed" the culls,
and few hours later we cooked and
canned the culls we had culled and
axed.
Then straightway we sent for. a
case of eggs. The middleman held us
up for IS cents a dozen. Then, the
very next day we heard of man down
in Delta selling them for rs cents per.
But we were SO desperately hungry
for eggs, the price didn't matter, and
even at the rate of IS cents for twelve,
we decided we were going to be ahead
OF the game any way, SO far as our
bank account was concerned.
Oh, there's some consolation in GULL
ing-with the ak.
We also learned valuable lesson
and have decided that it is well to
listen to your neighbors and be polite
about it, then serve the coffee and
sandwiches and let them go home, for
it's safest to figure things out for
yourself-and when you wish to know
the bona fide laying calibre of your
heavenly hens, send to some authentic,
recognized poultry expert and get a
set Of definite standardized rules to-
follow.
Oh, we are not going out Of the
chicken business. We have already
put in our order for whole brooder
Of baby chicks, warranted to be thoro-
breds and guaranteed to reach the egg
A. H.