278 MANAGEMENT OF LAYING STOCK 



able yield for December, January, and February is about 30 or 33 

 per cent; that is, a well-bred flock, properly cared for and kept 

 for egg production, should lay one-third as many eggs as there 

 are hens. During the spring and early summer it can usually be 

 raised to 50 or 60 per cent, and in some cases even higher for a 

 short time. 



Where very small flocks of five to ten birds are kept, it is 

 sometimes possible to get exceptionally high individual records, 

 often as high as a 100 per cent egg yield for the flock for periods 

 of short duration. In large commercial flocks in which many fowls 

 must be considered in getting an average, annual egg yields over 

 160 or 170 eggs per bird are exceptions rather than the rule, and 

 it can not be expected that whole flocks will average this number. 

 (See appendix Distribution of Egg Production, page 557.) 



Improvements in Egg Production. The efforts of the poultry- 

 man in managing the laying flock should not only be concentrated 

 upon present production, but upon means and methods of increas- 

 ing future production. Improvements in this line necessitate a 

 close study of the individual, for it is the individual which makes 

 the average, and a few poor birds greatly reduce the average of 

 the better ones. In a flock of one hundred hens, it will be found 

 that, on the average, perhaps 10 to 30 per cent rarely lay an egg 

 during the profitable months of the year, another 5 to 10 per cent 

 are totally barren, the remainder being fairly good egg layers. The 

 best way to obviate this is to select or weed out the poor layers 

 and keep only the best. It often proves more profitable to take 

 one hundred birds out of a flock of one hundred and fifty, after 

 which, with less labor, one can get nearly as many eggs and a much 

 more profitable yield per bird. 



Where the selection is not made, the poor birds are fed at the 

 expense of the better ones. Improvements will come largely by 

 the cooperation of three factors: (1) Rigid selection at the end 

 of the pullet year and the mating of a breeding pen from the best 

 birds. (2) By trap-nesting the individuals in this breeding pen 

 during the winter and early spring, and hatching future layers 

 from males and females that are themselves from prolific layers. 

 (3) By producing relatively early hatches, and selecting rigidly 

 throughout the growing season, keeping only the best youngsters 

 for future production. 



The Keeping of Egg Records. Success in poultry keeping is 

 assured if the many details of the business are understood and are 



