MANAGEMENT OF THE BREEDING STOCK 



to run with the flock. At this time it is also well to ex- 

 amine the purchased turkeys carefully to see that they are 

 free from lice, and if any indication of lice is found they 

 should be thoroughly treated as described on page 125. 

 In buying turkeys for new blood it is better to purchase a 

 gobbler rather than to buy hens. The purchase of a male 

 makes it possible to inject the new blood more widely in 

 the flock by means of a single individual. Moreover, 

 there will not be much difficulty experienced from a 

 strange gobbler straying away as he will stay with the 

 hens. If strange hens are purchased they are much more 

 likely to wander away than are the turkey raiser's own 

 hens. Very frequently turkeys are bought at a certain 

 guaranteed weight. In this connection it must be remem- 

 bered either in buying or selling that the shipment is hard 

 on turkeys and they will often lose as much as 2 or 3 

 pounds while en route. A common practice in selling tur- 

 keys for breeding purposes is to send sample feathers 

 from the bird so that the prospective purchaser can form 

 a good estimate as to the general excellence of the bird in 

 question. 



Number of Hens to a Male. 



In the wild variety it is not desirable to mate more 

 than eight hens with one male. In the domesticated 

 varieties a good vigorous young torn can be safely mated 

 to as high as 15 hens. If a flock of 25 or 30 hens 

 is to be kept, two toms should be used. The best prac- 

 tice is to allow one torn to run with the hens one day 



49 



