PROGRESSIVE POULTRY CULTURE 241 



pie forms or suggested methods of keeping records, 

 but will develop convenient forms especially suited to 

 his conditions and purposes, so that they will contain, 

 in condensed form, just the information desired for fu- 

 ture reference. 



The forms for special recording are to be kept posted 

 where it will be easiest to use them. A pencil should 

 be kept within easy reach so that the means of record- 

 ing are always at hand and there is no temptation to 

 omit the duty. 



As the forms, if kept in the hen house, are likely to 

 become dusty or stained, the poultryman may prefer to 

 make temporary entries on sheets of paper and post 

 the data in a book or file for preservation in neat, 

 clean shape. 



BREEDING RECORDS. In breeding pure-bred stock, by 

 line breeding, very accurate account should be kept of 

 the matings and of the chickens resulting from the 

 same. Use may be made of forms similar to that of 

 the breeding chart already shown by diagram in Chap- 

 ter II. By means of sealed leg-bands which are marked 

 in series, A, B, C, etc., and by successive numbers, 

 never repeated in the flocks of the poultryman, the 

 breeding stock and the progeny may be designated 

 with absolute accuracy. The breeder will then, by the 

 records, know the relationship of the birds to each 

 other with certainity. 



The leg-bands also designate the fowl definitely in 

 keeping other records of their performance. 



EGG-LAYING RECORDS. An egg record of the flock as 

 a whole or of individual layers is often kept. 



The breeder of great layers, especially, desires to 

 know what the hens of his breeding pens have done in 

 their first laying season. 



If only a few pens of fowls are to be kept track of, 

 the attendant can soon learn to distinguish the eggs of 

 individual layers and by having a record blank and 

 pencil in a convenient place, he readily keeps tally of 

 the eggs laid. 



