30 PROGRESSIVE POULTRY CULTURE 



nourishing and supplied in properly balanced rations. 

 Domestic fowls are almost entirely dependent upon the 

 poultryman for their food supply in respect to both 

 quality and quantity and this is one of his most im- 

 portant means of influence in the management of his 

 breeding stock. 



3. Exercise of Functions. As soon as the chick 

 develops organs for blood circulation, food digestion and 

 muscles for moving, there comes into play another set 

 of influences in the life of the creature. It begins to 

 use its powers and the exercise of the parts tends to 

 increase their strength and capacity. Healthy, natural 

 exercise of the functions of the bird's bodly tends to 

 the best development and maintenance of these func- 

 tions. Excessive use or abuse of any of these powers 

 tends to react disastrously upon the functions and upon 

 the bird's whole organism. This matter is very largely 

 within the control of the poultry breeder. For example 

 he may, by early hatching and high feeding, cause his 

 pullets to develop raipidly, and begin laying while still 

 quite young. The eggs of these precocious pullets will 

 be found lacking in hatching quality to a considerable 

 degree if the attempt is ma'de to incubate them. If 

 some of the eggs yield chicks they will usually prove 

 to be weaklings. Moreover the pullets, after laying 

 a while, will very likely begin to molt and delay further 

 egg-production until the following spring, . the natural 

 nesting time of the birds. Thus even in a commercial 

 way, the pullets prove the futility of the poultryman's 

 plan for forcing egg-production at the expense of the 

 development of the other functions. 



Again the poultryman may, by close confinement of 

 his adult fowls and by too generous a diet, especially 

 of Indian corn, induce habits of laziness in his flock. 

 The fowls lay on fat, their eggs become infertile, later 

 egg-laying, stops altogether, thfe birds stand about in 

 idleness, they get listless, their systems become clogged, 

 they topple over and die of apoplexy. An entirely 

 different result is secured simply by compelling the hens 



