SUMMARY 291 



placed on the egg also by using the number of the month and the 

 day of the month. All eggs to be marked shovild be carefully 

 marked as they are taken from the nest. 



Summary. — Poultry breeding is a natural process, and arti- 

 ficial conditions must be adapted to its requirements. Standard- 

 bred birds are of a nervous temperament and possess great 

 powers of production and reproduction, but this indicates that 

 they need extra care and attention. Under normal conditions 

 these birds lay but few eggs during the spring season, when it is 

 easiest to hatch and rear the young, their sole instinct being to 

 reproduce their kind. With birds under domestication the idea 

 is not only to reproduce them in kind, but to obtain a commercial 

 product, and, in order to develop this industry to its highest de- 

 gree, man has transformed the fowl into a "machine." Here the 

 conditions differ from the natural instincts and habits of fowls, 

 and, in order to run such a machine to its highest efficiency and 

 to bring about steady improvement, constant thought is necessary. 

 One cannot expect to get maximum results or superiority in his 

 flock without more or less continuous care in selection and mating. 



REVIEW. 



1. What is the chief object in managing breeding stock? 



2. Discuss the desirabihty of selected matings for breeding purposes. 



3. Discuss six points which should be considered in selecting breeding birds. 



4. What is the most desirable age for breeding stock? 



5. Give five disadvantages resulting from using pullets as breeders. 



6. Discuss conditions regulating the number of males and females in the 



breeding pen. 



7. Give three features which require special consideration during the mating 



8. WTiat four special points should be considered in feeding breeders? 



9. What points do you consider of special significance in collecting eggs for 



hatching? 



10. What points should be considered when selecting hatching eggs? 



11. Mention three factors which affect the keeping quality of hatching eggo. 



12. Give nine causes which tend to produce infertility. 



13. Mention four causes of apparent infertility or early death of the embryo. 



14. What five points are of special significance in the care of young breeders 



until maturity? 



15. Compare the wild bird and the domesticated species in reference to re- 



production and artificial breeding. 



Reference. — Fertility of Eggs, North Dakota Farmers' Bulletin 251. 



