Early Maturity of Egg Breeds 17 



All fowls may become gentle and tame by 

 continued careful handling, so that the charac- 

 teristic alertness of the egg breeds need not pre- 

 vent the jtise of these types, even though tame 

 fowls are required. Leghorn and Minorca hens 

 have frequently been seen to perch on a basket 

 carried on the arm of an attendant who was en- 

 tering the pen or yard, in order that they might 

 secure the first morsel of a coveted food. This 

 degree of familiarity is attained only by continued 

 thoughtfulness and gentleness on the part of the 

 attendant. 



Early maturity. The noted egg breeds are 

 classed among the earliest maturing fowls. In 

 fact, they almost form a class by themselves if 

 judged from a standpoint of development. Early 

 in life they assume the appearance of miniature 

 adults, both in general outline or conformation 

 and in the growth of plumage. 



The early feathering greatly enhances the prob- 

 ability of the young chick living to reach matur- 

 ity. Other things being equal, the more rapidly 

 the young chick "feathers out" the more hardy it 

 becomes. The time when a young fowl is growing 

 feathers rapidly is always a delicate period in its 

 existence. It is well known by those who keep 

 song birds in cages that the moulting period is a 

 trying one for their pets. As these songsters in 

 the moulting period are producing feathers, which 



