Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1924-10-29
Principles Of Poultry Breeding,
What Stock to Use

by J.. W. KELLER, Eminent Poultry Expert

How tc increase production is prob
ably the greatest Of the problems
that concern poultry breeders; if
they are to secure the fullest meas
ure of success they must set them
selves to the task of solving this
problem, ard it can be done by Sc
lective poultry breeding If a man
were in the poultry business for eggs
alone he would naturally keep pull
let's and nothing else, but for the
man wis is in the chicken business
seriously and expects to stay in it,
he must replace his stock and there
fore is Ublige1 to use some of his
stock far breeding purposes. The
question then arises whether he
should use pullets as breeding stock.
Until recently it has been the con-
sensus of opinion that a man should
not use pullCts as breeding stock I'm
der any circumstances. This belief
probably was due to the fact that
formerly poultrymen h2tched their
chickens considerably later in the
season than now formerly, say in
the latter part of April May or
June). Such pullets probably did
not reach maturity until the latter
part of November or early in Deem
Der. Under these conditions the
birds would be altogether too i'm
mature to use the same season as
breeding stock.
PulIets Now Satisfactory
Today-the modern commercial
poultrymen matches chicks in Fehru-
airy and March and has his pullets
laying in July and August. Thus it
will be seen that conditions have
changed With the changed modern
/ conditions, it is my opinion that
early Matched pullets may be used as
breeders. Many successful poultry
men throughout the country use no
thing but pallets as breeders. They
not only do not use cid hens at all
| but they have carried on this sys-
TEN of using pullets for breeding
for from five to nine years and are
as successful today as they have
been at any time in the past.
There has been no depreciation in
the size, vigOr, the vitality or the
stamina of their present day stock.
When poultryman can keep 1890
laying pullets and use the best five
hundred of these as breeding stock,
at the same tine produce eggs which
will average to hatch 65 percent OF
the fetal number eggs incubated, and
when the mortality Of the resulting
chicken season after season will
not average over II to Is percent, il
is apparent that there has been nc
marked lowering Of the vitality Of
the stock.
These chickens are being managed
so that at four months the cockercls
of such breeds as the Reds weigh
four and three-quarters to five
pounds while the pullets at the sans
age are ready TO begin laying. TIT
: pullets reach maturity at five to fiv'
! and one-half months. With this re
cord it is evident that there is n,
loss in the value OF these birds a
producers of eggs. The birds in
stead of being lowered in vigor an
value have improved. TIE Pratt
Poultry Experimental Farm, Phila
delphia, Pa, in the many exper
ments carried On there have fOun
that more hens die in their secon
laying year out of a given flock tina
die as pullets out of a similar focl
A flock of hens is not as strong or a
vigorous in their second laying yea
as they were when they were pu
let's.
Vigor of PuI'ets
A pullet which has laid for fiy
or six months previous to the tim