CHAPTER XX. 

 Odds and Ends. 



How much cut bone should be fed? 



It depends upon what you feed with it. With corn alone or for most of 

 the ration one ounce per hen each day will be safe. Less if meat or linseed 

 is used in the mash. 



How long should hens be kept for layers ? 



Depends upon the hen. Some hens will lay profitably at four years 

 old. others are of little use after the second season. The majority of 

 poultrymen sell ordinary hens when 2^ years old. 



Will hens continue to lay when no male bird is kept with them? 



Yes; better than when a crowd of surplus roosters are kept. We would 

 keep no rooster except with the breeding hens. 



Will infertile eggs keep longer than fertile ones? 



Yes, in warm weather or in places where the eggs are heated. In cool 

 weather there is little difference. 



How long after the male is placed with the hens will the eggs become 

 fertile? 



Cases are on record where eggs laid 40 hours after the male was intro- 

 duced hatched healthy chicks. The surest results are obtained after six or 

 seven days. 



How long after the male is taken away will the eggs remain fertile ? 



In some cases eggs laid two weeks after the male was removed have 

 hatched. We must remember that hens vary greatly in this respect. 

 Some rarely, if ever, lay eggs that will hatch, while others lay a large 

 proportion of hatchable eggs: After a hen has been laying for a long time 

 the eggs are less likely to be fertile than earlier in the season. The male 

 pays greater attention to some hens than to others. This is one reason 

 why the system of double males (page 27) pays. 



How can we prevent fertile eggs from hatching and not injure them 

 for sale? 



Shake or jar the egg. Hold it in the right hand and strike at the other 

 hand so as to shock the egg without breaking the shell. This breaks up 

 the delicate membranes inside the egg and destroys its life. 



Does a Leghorn hen ever become broody? 



Yes, but few will sit through the period of incubation. They are so. 

 nervous that a little handling will break them of the desire. Few pure 

 Leghorns are safe mothers. 



