828 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [iVou 2, 1920. 



proves that from November onwards a good deal of culling out can be 

 carried on without materially reducing the egg supply. Moreover, the 

 accommodation is usually required for growing pullets. 



Mistaken Ideas about Culling. 



In this connection culling is not a process to be attended to only once in 

 a year as some appear to think, but to be effective and economical it should 

 be extended over some few months, say November to May. As a matter of 

 fact, it may profitably extend more or less over the whole of the year where 

 a large number are carried, because from various causes hens cease to be 

 profitable layers at different ages. This is shown even in first-year hens, 

 which at different times of the year go off laying in the competitions. Hovv' 

 much more so with second and third year birds? Such hens become a 

 handicap to the average laying of the flock, and a loss to the owner. The 

 indications that a hen is off laying might be stated as follows : — 



1. Comb and wattles loose their fresh appearance and are often shrivelled 



up. 



2. The hen is less keen for food, and exhibits a noticeable falling off in 



the consumption of shell grit. 



3. The pelvic bones, instead of being pliable and open and sufficiently 



wide to allow the passage of an egg, are closed together and often 

 rigid. The latter condition is often an indication that the hen 

 has been off laying for some considerable time. 

 The causes of the above condition may be set down as follows : — 



1. Age. 



2. Loss of good health from any cause, temporarily or permanently. 



3. Seasonal conditions, such as cold or even extremely hot weather. 



4. Moulting. 



5. Insufficient or unsuitable food. In this connection, the writer has 



seen many flocks of hens fed so sparingly as to keep them only 

 existing and in a fair measure of health, but without sufficient 

 food for the production of eggs. 



Concerning Fat Hens. 



It might be expected that the " fat hen " would be mentioned in this 

 category as a sixth cause for hens not laying, or perhaps as one of the 

 principal causes, that being a very popular theoxy to account for hens 

 going off laying, though it is a theory that has little foundation in fact. 

 The facts are that the hen that puts on too much fat or flesh, or both, is 

 usually a poor layer, but the trouble is a constitutional one, and is not to be 

 solved, as is often supposed, by under-feeding. If such a hen does not get 

 sufficient food to meet her constitutional requirements she will not lay eggs. 

 If the "fat hen" does not lay (and she often does) while she is being 

 well fed, she will most certainly not lay when insufficient food is given. 



Then, again, if an attempt is made to reduce condition by under-feeding . 

 for a period with the hope that the trouble will be overcome and the hens 

 brought into laying condition again, nothing but disappointment can 

 result. No permanent remedy will be found, because just as soon as full 



