Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1926-08-07
Summer Culling

Summer vacations are not permits
sible in the farm flock. In order to
be profitable a hen must lay at least
ten months of the year. Vacations
begun in August usually last longer
than two months. consequently the
August molter is undesirable.
Under normal conditions the hen
which begins her mott and takes her
vacation in August must be sold IN
order to maintain profitable produc-
ton. This is not always the case
however, for sometimes the poultry
man is to blame for the early mott of
the layers.
The factors to consider when Gull
ing a flock are: Time of year, age,
condition, feed, range, and methods
Of management.
Birds that quit laying in June,
July or August show that they have
short laying period. They are US
ually low in vitality, have a small
body capacity. and, perhaps, no in
herited tendency to lay during a long
period Birds that quit laying in Au-
gust and early September may be re-
tanned if they are allowed to mott
rapidly and are then placed under
lights in October or early November
II no lights are available these mott
ers VIII never prove profitable. Hens
melting later than November are the
long laying birds that take only
short vacation and hurry back to the
nest.
Not all birds that mott during Au-
gust are poor birds. Sometimes the
poultryman uses poor methods in
feeding and management and then
the flock may mott early because of
these conditions. If the birds are
fed inadequately or if they are not
fed a good balanced ration through
out the summer, their body soon be-
comes depleted and they are unable
to lay.
When a bird quits laying she us
ually molts, and she usually quits
laying because Of improper feeding
1t is quite apparent then that the
poult. lyman must be very careful n
the attention he gives his birds
In attempting to Gull flock it is
important that the conditions relat-
ing to the care of the flock be taken
into consideration. Parasites. too,
may cause hens to mott prematurely
Only after a careful study of the
flock can it be safely culled.
After the flock has been carefully
studied then the culling can be care
fully done. Confine the birds to the
poultry house the evening before.
Prepare shipping crate with an en-
trance that it may be set next to the
exit door of the poultry house and
the birds run into it directly in lots
of 20 or 80. The birds can be re-
moved from the crate one at a time
and handled to study their condition.
In order to lay we'll a hen must
have sound body. AS a first con-
sideration she must be VIGOROUS
AND HEALTHY. Vigor and health
are indicated by bright, clear eyes,
a we'll set body, a comparatively &C.
tive disposition and good circula-
ton.
There should be no physical defect
such as scaly legs, crooked beak, ex-
cessively long toe nails, eye-lids that
overhang so that the bird cannot
see we'll, or anything that may pre-
vent the bird from securing an abun-
dance of feed.
After all, the actual worth of a lay
er can be seen most easily by a study
of the body condition. The laying
hen has large moist vent, showing
a wide, dilated condition in contrast
to the small, dry, puckered vent of a
hen that Is not laying.
The abdomen Of the laying hen is
enlarged, the pelvic arch spread and
the keel forced down. The more eggs
the hen is going to lay the following
week the greater is the size of her
abdomen.
Egg laying condition Is shown b.
the quality Of the skin and the thick
ness and pliability of the pelvic
bones. Fat goes out of the skin and
the body with production SO that a
heavy producer, has a soft, velvety
skin that is not under laid by hard
fat. The abdomen, in particular, is
soft and pliable.
Because the distance between the
keel bone and the pelvic bones is
greater in the layer than in the nom
layer and because the distance in
creases with the amount and rate of
production. poultrymen usually speak
of the good layer in terms of SO many
fingers capacity. The fingers are laid
between these bones and are then
pressed gently forward. In this man
ner, the bird that has room for four
fingers or more is considered the
good layer while the bird that has