BREEDING FOR EGG PRODUCTION 



253 



bird which is a hea\y layer merely during the three spring months, 

 for she is often found to lack the persistency so essential to a heavy 

 yearly production. 



Only mature birds, male and female, should be used in breed- 

 ing for egg production, for these are more prepotent, and will 

 produce offspring with more vigor and vitality and of larger size 

 W'hen adults. Hens should be used, not pullets. 



Practise line breeding to fix and intensify the good qualities 

 of the strain in regard to fecundity. This avoids the dangers 

 attendant upon out-crossing. 

 The introduction of low fe- 

 cundity lines by the use of 

 males of unkno^^•n pedigree is 

 evidently a very bad mistake. 



Early-producing Pullets. 

 — By selecting for breeders 

 hens which were early pro- 

 ducers in their pullet year, it 

 is possible to intensify this 

 characteristic in the progeny, 

 and not only is this quality 

 in itself desirable, but a heavy 

 yearly production is seldom at- 

 tained without it. Early pro- 

 duction, say October of the 

 pullet year, means an early 

 winter start, which signifies 

 a good yield for the winter 

 months and promises for the 

 individual a high yearly total. 



Late Molters. — It has been proved by experiment and obser- 

 vation that the bird which molts the latest is, in the majority 

 of cases, the heaviest layer; in other words, the hen that molts 

 in July or August, and gets her new plumage and makes a fine 

 appearance early, is not the one that is the heavy layer (Fig. 

 127). The one that is laAnngeggs until cool weather in the fall is 

 the one that does not molt until late, but looks shabby and raw 

 during that time; nevertheless, when she does start, the molt is 

 usually rapid and complete, leaving her in good condition to com- 

 mence laj'ing in early winter. This external feature, the molt, 

 is of practical value in selecting persistent layers. 



Fig. 127. — "Lady Showyou," a white Plym- 

 outh Rock hen that laid2SI egga in twelvemonths, 

 winning the Missouri National Egg-Laying Con- 

 test. Note the ragged condition of the plumage, 

 the pale shank and the bright, prominent eye 

 (Photo by the Missouri State Poultry Experiment 

 Station.) 



