REPORT OF TEE DIRECTOR 65 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



their flocks of fowls, clear a much larger margin, than this. Where pure-hred fowls of 

 a good strain are kept, the sale of eggs for hatching adds materially to the income. 



In order to obtain the advantages of having both eggs and chickens for sale, it is 

 necessary either to keep two breeds, one for egg-production, such as the White Leg- 

 horn, Minorca, Ancona or Black Minorca, and one of the large, heavy breeds as a 

 flesh-producer, or (2) the endeavour may be made to find a breed uniting in itself the 

 characteristics of both to a marked degree. For the average farmer's purpose, the 

 latter alternative is much to be preferred, as it relieves him of a great deal of extra 

 labour. 



From experimental work carried on here for many years, any of the following 

 may be confidently recommended as a ' dual purpose ' breed : Barred and White 

 Plymouth Bocks, White Wyandottes, Bhode Island Beds, Orpingtons and Dorkings. 



It has been a common practice in the past to attempt to secure flesh-forming and 

 egg-laying characteristics by mating a bird of the former type with one of the latter. 

 The resulting crosses have proven very unsatisfactory and it cannot be too strongly 

 recommended that, whatever breed or type of fowl the farmer may choose, he keep 

 nothing but pure-breds. The sale of breeding stock and of eggs for hatching, to say 

 nothing of the greater returns in other ways, will more, than repay him for his 

 care in keeping his flock pure-bred. 



There is little danger of the over-production of poultry and eggs in Canada for 

 many years to come, if ever. Up to the present, in spite of increased production and 

 decreased export, prices have steadily increased. As a matter of fact, Canada has, 

 for the past two years, imported many hundreds of thousands of eggs. The field for 

 greater home production is practically unlimited. In this production, however, the 

 Canadian farmer's motto should be ' Quality.' It is the first quality, both of eggs 

 and of chickens, which commands prices ensuring the maximum profits. The unsuit- 

 ability of type and lack of finish of much of the poultry now marketed in Canada 

 has frequently been commented on by our heaviest buyers. 



With eggs, equal care and attention are necessary. They should be gathered 

 regularly and frequently, packed in attractive shape and marketed without delay. 

 The hens should be well and cleanly fed and both hens and houses kept free from 

 lice and mites. The houses should be comfortable and adapted to the climate of the 

 locality. Plans of various styles of houses will be furnished free by applying to the 

 Poultry Division, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa. 



Whether for the production of table fowl or for laying and breeding stock, the 

 necessary care and proper feeding should commence from the time of hatching. 

 Chickens compelled to hunt continually for food are retarded and stunted in growth 

 and develop sinew at the expense of flesh. It should not be forgotten at any stage 

 that it is the production of the highest quality that should be aimed at and that care 

 and good feeding are the requisites for success. 



The production of eggs in winter is a problem, the solution of which is dependent 

 on several factors, such as comfortable quarters and proper food, time of hatching 

 and time of moulting. In order to be early winter layers, the hens should moult in 

 midsummer and should be fully feathered out by the end of October.. It has been 

 shown that the progeny of hens which moulted in midsummer have a tendency to 

 do the same. The possibility has also been demonstrated of controlling the moulting 

 season by variations in the rate of feeding and in the food supplied. 



Pullets, especially of the dual purpose breeds, in order to be early winter layers, 

 should be hatched out not later than the first week in May. Both cockerels and pullets 

 should be bred from parents of a good egg-laying strain. 



Where hens have been laying regularly during the winter, a difficulty likely to 

 be met with in early spring is that of weak germs, which are apt to hatch out, if they 

 hatch at all, in the shape of weakling chickens, which usually die from acute indiges- 

 tion or bowel trouble. It is far better to wait before setting hens or filling the 



16—5 



