62 THE AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 



the bird in hand and feeling his breast bone. The division of shape, 

 therefore, was designed as a practical advance in score card judging. 



New points are now being introduced, such as abdominal capacity 

 and shape of pelvic bones. They, too, are distinct from typical shape 

 or general outline and deserve separate examination and recording. 



Body shape of good layers. Because the general appearance of 

 laying hens varies greatly, it was for a long time assumed that there 

 was no egg type. Egg capacity, however, has been found correlated 

 with body formation, and that general appearance of the bird which 

 is dependent on the plumage may continue to vary in different high 

 producers. It has been found that the good layers have large intes- 

 tinal development to permit the assimilation and elimination of large 

 quantities of food. 



1 



Large and small abdominal capacity. The bird on the left has 

 large intestines. The bird on the right is "dried up," having small 

 Intestinal capacity. 



The carcass to the left in the illustration of dressed fowls shown 

 herewith, shows good intestinal development. The abdomen in the 

 live bird was large and soft. Large intestines are a fundamental 

 in good layers; but a large abdomen or belly that is full and hard 

 indicates layers of fat around the entrails rather than large intestines, 

 and such a hen is of the meat type rather than the egg type. The 

 body of a heavy layer in the flush of laying should not only be large 

 but found to be soft and pliable when your finger is gently pressed 

 against the abdomen. 



Culling the flock. Abdominal capacity is measured by the dis- 

 tance between the end of breastbone and the pelvic bones. The car- 

 cass to the right shows small egg capacity, the breastbone curving 

 toward the pelvic bones so that not more than two fingers can be 

 placed between them. Following are shown the methods of measuring 

 this capacity in living specimens. On either side of the vent, just 

 below the vent are the ends of the two pelvic or lay bones. They may 



