414 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



THE "BEST" BREED. 



Abe Stephens, Troy, Missouri^ in Poultry Culture^ 



There is always more or less discussion going on through the columns of 

 the poultry press as to which is the ' 'best" breed. This is a question that 

 puzzles the beginner probably more than anything else, at least it is one of 

 the first he has to contend with. There is no doubt that there is a "best" 

 breed. It does not necessarily follow that it is the same breed for every per- 

 son, but for everyone who raises fowls there is one breed that is better than 

 the others. Further than that, I believe that on the judicious selection of the 

 right breed depends, in a large measure, the beginner's success or failure in 

 the poultry field. 



There are many things to be taken into consideration when it comes to 

 choosing the best breed. If you intend keeping poultry on a city lot or have 

 only a limited space upon which to keep them probably some of the Asiatics 

 would best answer the purpose; if you have plenty of room or keep them for 

 ^?,% production alone then the Mediterraneans would suit you, or if you 

 want a fowl that will do well on medium range and answer the purpose of 

 both of the foregoing classes; one that is a good table bird as well as an 

 ' 'egg machine," you will find what you want in the American class. 



For me the ' ' best " breed is the White Wyandotte and that I am not alone 

 in my estimate is evidenced by the advertising columns of the poultry jour- 

 nals and the entry list at the various poultry shows, where you will find 

 more advertisements of White Wyandottes, and more entries in the shows 

 than any other breed. I like them because they bear confinement well; are 

 hardy, thrifty birds from the time they are hatched until they reach matu- 

 rity, do well on free range or in confinement alike; are excellent layers, and 

 on account of their plump conformation and preponderance of breast meat 

 are the best table fowl. Their good points are so many that I could easily 

 exhaust my space and the editor's patience describing them. That they are 

 one of the best breeds is proven more conclusively, I think, by the fact that 

 in a comparatively short space of time they have forged to the foremost rank 

 of Poultrydom on their merits alone. As layers they are not beaten even by 

 the Leghorns, whose claim to superiority rests solely on their ability to pro- 

 duce eggs. For a table fowl, while they do not have the large carcass of 

 Asiatics, their meat is finer fibred and better flavored. They reach maturity 

 sooner and can be forced to broiler size quicker than even the Rocks or 

 other American breeds, and the absence of colored pin feathers give the 

 Whites the advantage over other varieties of Wyandottes. To my mind, 

 aside from their commercial value as table fowls and ^%g producers, there 

 is no fowl that excels the White Wyandotte from a fancier's standpoint. 

 While they are a solid color variety, do not get the idea that they can be 

 bred to standard requirements with little or no trouble. To get and main- 

 tain the chalk-white plumage, true Wyandotte shape, bay eyes, yellow legs 

 and skin, etc., requires no little skill and taxes the breeder's ingenuity as 

 much as does the breeding of the parti-colored varieties. 



