RiRAL School Leaflet 



1149 



better to have a pure breed of poultry than common stock. The}' should 

 remember, however, that not all pure-bred fowls are good fowls. Whether 

 pure-bred or mongrel stock is kept, it must be vigorous and healthy. 

 In ncarh- every flock of chickens or fowls there are good ones and poor 

 ones; in some flocks there are exceptionally good ones and exceptionally 

 poor ones. Very likely the good ones are profitable, and the poor ones 

 are kept at a loss. If money is to be made from fowls or chickens, only 

 good ones should be kept. 



E\'ery chicken should be regarded as a living machine for making 

 food into meat or eggs. Unless the machine is a good one, satisfactory 

 results cannot be obtained from the food. ]\Iany flocks of chickens may 

 be divided into five classes: (i) chickens that are growing and not laying 

 (young pullets and cockerels); (2) those that arc laying and not growing 

 (mature hens); (3) those that are growing and laying (puUets) ; (4) those 

 that are neither gro\^ing nor laying 

 (old hens and roosters) ; (5) those 

 that are losing weight and not laying 

 (old or sick hens and roosters). All 

 five of these groups are eating 

 valuable food, and, if they are all 

 kept together, they will probably 

 eat more than they earn. If the last 

 two groups are disposed of, the 

 others may pay a good profit There 

 will be less work to do in caring 

 for those that remain, and they will have more room. Moreover, the 

 good chickens by themselves will look far more attractive, will grow 

 better, will lay better, and will be less likely to suffer from disease than 

 they would be if kept with the others. 



There are several types of unprofitable chickens that should not be 

 kept : 



1. A chicken of any breed or age that shows signs of sickness or weak- 

 ness. All such should be removed at once and doctored, or killed and 

 burned. Prompt action may prevent further trouble. Delay is almost 

 certain, in the end, to have serious results on the rest of the flock. 



2. Old hens that m.ay still be well and strong. Generally it does not 

 pay to keep hens after they are three or four years old unless they are 

 strong and especially valuable for breeding purposes. Fowls should 

 be marked so as to indicate their age. 



3. Surplus cockerels. They are unprofitable boarders. It is a com- 

 mon mistake to keep too many males. This is frequently due to a natural 

 desire to avoid killing desirable breeders, and to a hope that if they are 



Strong ^ , , Weak 

 c ockerels 



