WHAT CONSTITUTES A GOOD EGG YIELD 277 



of heavy feeding. It has been shown that during the fast the birds 

 lose weight and their vitahty and stamina decHne, and after heavy 

 feeding has been resumed it takes much longer to get back the 

 weight that was lost; this is usually gotten back before the birds 

 start laying. The best practice is to feed the birds on a normal, 

 well-balanced ration throughout July and August, and allow them 

 to molt naturally; it will be found that some specimens are early 

 molters and some late. The late molters are usually the heavy 

 producers; therefore, in making the last selection in the fall, birds 

 which are rather ragged at that time will usually prove more profit- 

 able as layers in the following winter than those which molted 

 and got their new plumage very early. Where limited feeding is 

 the rule, the egg yield is immediately shut off, and the balance 

 of the summer is wasted for that purpose. 



It is a fact, however, that the feeding of a certain ration con- 

 taining a high percentage of fat or oil and much protein will have 

 a tendency to form new feathers and to make them glossy and 

 attractive. For this reason sunflower seeds are recommended. 



The following conclusions have been reached from experiments 

 conducted at Cornell University:* (1) It does not pay to force 

 the molt by fasting. (2) It is good policy to encourage the hens 

 by careful feeding to lay during the late summer and fall. (3) 

 When the hens want to lay, let them lay, and the molt will follow 

 in due time according to the character of the individual. (4) In 

 most individuals the molt is subservient to egg production. 



What Constitutes a Good Egg Yield.f — The exact number of 

 eggs which a hen will lay in a year varies greatly with the breed, 

 and with different individuals in the same breed, and it cannot 

 be said that one breed is always a better egg producer than another. 

 The strain is a better indication of good production than the breed; 

 in other words, it is the breeding back of the individual which 

 counts. The individual egg yield from an average flock of birds 

 will vary greatly, ranging from 100 to 150, a fair estimate being 

 about 130. There are many exaggerated statements in regard to 

 a 200-egg strain, but a family of birds averaging such a height of 

 production is yet to be developed. There are undoubtedly heavy- 

 laying strains, but a successful egg yield depends as well on feeding 

 and management, and its maintenance or increase upon future 

 breeding and selection. As was said before, the profitable egg 

 yield is produced during the winter months; a commercially profit- 



* Bulletin No. 258, "Molting of Fowls," by J. E. Rice and C. A. Rogers, 

 t See "Distribution of Egg Production," page 567 in appendix. 



