PROGRESSIVE POULTRY RAISING 



When a hen is laying the point of the keel (breast bone) 

 moves away from the pelvic bones (lay bones). When 

 the hen is not laying these come closer together and are 

 less pliable. The actual distance is comparative only 

 and varies in different individuals, depending on the 

 size and the breed. When the bird is laying, the pelvic 

 bones (located just below and to either side of the vent) 

 are quite far apart and pliable, whereas in a male bird 

 or a hen that is not laying, they are quite close together. 

 They are also quite thin due to the fact that fat is not 

 deposited in this region. While the hen is laying heavily 

 the skin of the abdomen is soft and pliable in a good 

 layer and the flesh of this region is not firm and hard to 

 the touch as in the case of a non-layer, when considerable 

 masses of fat are likely to be deposited here. 



The abdomen should not hang down, indicating a 

 fatty degeneration of the supporting tissues. Neither 

 should it be tucked up, indicating lack of capacity. The 

 latter condition is very frequently found when the 

 keel is short. The vent is large and moist in a good 

 layer. 



In the yellow shanked varieties (all Americans and 

 Mediterraneans except the black varieties), the yellow 

 color, which is by no means limited to the shanks but is 

 found in the skin as well, gradually disappears from the 

 various parts of the body in the following order: 



1 . The vent. 



2. The eye ring. 



3. The beak, starting at the base. 



4. From the shanks beginning at the toes and leav- 

 ing the back of the hock the last. 



A glance at the latter section will indicate how much 

 the shank is bleached. Loss of color from the shanks 

 indicates that a much longer period of laying has elapsed 

 than loss of color from the other sections named. Gen- 

 erally a bleached shank indicates that there have been 

 fifteen to twenty weeks of heavy production. 



Pa^t Fourteen 



