Normal Institute 1609 



machine for using this mixture is described in Geneva Experiment 

 Station bulletin Xo. 182. The formalin drip where used was 

 also found ett'ective. 



POULTRY HUSBANDRY 



Professor Rice presented the results with a large number of 

 hens covering a period of three years, trap nest records, which 

 showed that as a general rule the greatest production was in tho 

 first year, the medium production in the second year, and the least 

 production in the third year. In some cases hens laid more eggs 

 each rear for three vears. We should breed fowls with the char- 

 acteristic of maintaining their production for two or three years. 

 We must breed in our hens the inherited quality to produce many 

 eggs and then build size and vigor to sustain that production. 

 The average production of the one flock tested showed : 



First year 153 eggs 



■Second year 136 eggs 



Third year 127 eggs 



If a hen has made her heaviest production the first year she is 

 likely to produce more eggs the third than the second year. There- 

 fore, hens that have laid w^ell the first year can be profitably car- 

 ried over to the third year. 



There is an indication that the pullets that begin to lay earliest 

 will produce the most eggs each year thereafter. A person should 

 nuike the first selection for high production on the basis of the 

 pullets ()f the same age and variety that begin to lay first. Gen- 

 erally this means that the best laying pullets hatched in April and 

 Mav should lav before Januarv, but as a scientific basis for select- 

 ing the highest producers, it is not wholly reliable. The fact that 

 hens are high producers for years is proof that they have a strong 

 constitution. 



The question of well-sustained high production and inheritance 

 and the ability to stand up under such heavy production, is the all 

 important question. 



The hens that were never broodv laid more eggs than broodv 

 hens. 



The hens that are low producers lay nearly all of their eggs 

 when they are the cheapest ; the highest producers lay when con- 

 ditions are unfavorable and eggs are high. 



