92 THE BIRDS 



LABORATORY EXERCISES 



EXERCISE No. 13. Practice work in selecting breeding 

 birds can best be secured by taking a trip to one or more 

 nearby poultry flocks which are owned by some of the pupils. 

 The class can then go over each bird, separating the breeders 

 from those which are to be sold or killed. When making the 

 selection each bird should be examined carefully for the 

 characteristics which are outlined in the text. The object 

 for which the flock is to be kept should be considered first. 

 That is whether the flock is to be managed for egg production 

 or for meat. In this selection size, health and vigor are the 

 first considerations. 



EXERCISE No. 14. If a small flock is maintained on the 

 school property the pupils should be given experience in 

 operating trap nests and keeping records of individual pro- 

 duction. Simple trap nests can be easily built. This work 

 can be taken up as a project in carpentry. Knowing the 

 production of the hens in the flock an effort should be made 

 to pedigree the chicks hatched and thus allow the pupils 

 to study the inheritance of egg production and common 

 external characters of plumage color and comb characters. 



THOUGHT QUESTIONS 



1. In what way is the work of mating and hatching a hard problem 



for the poultry keeper? 



2. What is meant by breeding? 



3. What is the direct object of all poultry breeding? 



4. Define the word mating. 



5. Describe the difference between mating in nature and artificially, 



as with poultry keeping. 



6. What are the two controlling factors which affect all breeding work? 



7. What is meant by inheritance in breeding? 



8. Discuss the effect of environment upon all breeding work. 



9. What is the true meaning of inheritance and environment when 



applied to breeding operations? 



10. Define the law of heredity. 



11. What is the great value of the law of heredity? 



12. What is meant by the law of variation? 



13. How does the law of variation make possible continued improve- 



ment? 



