406 AMERICAN POULTRY ASSOCIATION 



has obtained a good start, that yard may again be used by the 

 fowls, and greens planted in the yard first used. By this 

 process the ground can be kept in good condition and a cer- 

 tain amount of green food constantly furnished the fowls in 

 season. (H. A. N.) 



CHAPTER V. 



FEEDING THE BREEDING FLOCK. 



Feeding the fowls from which the eggs for hatching will 

 be secured is a very important matter. Sometimes care and 

 feed which will secure a good yield will not produce eggs that 

 will hatch welll, nor which will hatch strong, healthy chicks. 

 When feeding for high production alone, the main idea is to 

 feed the hen a ration that will enable her to produce the most 

 eggs in a given time, and that very often overworks her so 

 that her strength and vitality are reduced to such an extent 

 that she will seldom lay eggs that are suitable for incuba- 

 tion. To produce a strong chick, the egg must not only be 

 perfect so far as table qualities are concerned, but must also 

 possess a strong, vigorous life germ and the proper life-giving 

 material to develop this germ. It will be obvious that both 

 the male and females in the breeding pen must be in good 

 physical condition, or the qualities desired, hatchability of the 

 eggs and vitality of the chicks hatched, will be lacking in the 

 egg produced. 



In accordance with Nature's plan, the hen usually waits 

 until warm weather comes and the ground is covered with 

 green grass before eggs are laid and incubated. She then 

 finds health-giving nourishment in form of fresh vegetable 

 matter and has an invigorating atmosphere in which to exer- 

 cise and build up her powers of reproduction to a high degree 

 and the same natural conditions favor maximum vitality in 

 the male. Conditions are very different in most poultry yards 

 because the poultry-keeper has found it necessary to hatch 

 earlier than the natural season in order to get the most profit 

 from the chicks and because, in the case of the back yard 

 poultry-keeper in particular, he has not space enough for much 

 grass to grow or to give extended range. The breeding season 

 comes close after the severe winter weather in the northern 

 states, and although it comes earlier in the South, the condi- 

 tions are approximately the same as related. 



