WITH 4200 HENS 25 



you buy baby chicks, because eggs are higher in price at 

 that time and for the further reason that not only will 

 the fertility of the eggs be lower but the hatchability of 

 the fertile eggs will also be lower. But this increased cost 

 will be offset to a large extent, if not entirely, by the fact 

 that the cockerels sold as broilers will bring a higher 

 price, and the pullets will mature and be self-sustaining 

 at an earlier date. 



If you wish to start in the fall, September 15th to Octo- 

 ber 1st would be a good time to have your hatch come off. 



By far the greater proportion of chicks are brought off 

 in March and April. These are generally considered the 

 ideal months. But if you will have several broods ol 

 chicks, and especially if this is your first experience, the 

 writer recommends that you have one brood in the month 

 of January, preferably about the middle of the month. 

 This will give you some experience before you enter 

 the heavier hatching season. The objection to January 

 hatched chicks is the fact that they will moult the fol- 

 lowing summer and fall. You can count on reaching 

 the low ebb of egg production from January hatched pul- 

 lets in October and November, the season of highest 

 prices. They will show an increase in eggs late in No- 

 vember ; will gain fast in December, and by January will 

 do as well or better than the spring-hatched birds that 

 did not moult. And if you keep the accurate records you 

 will be advised to keep you will find that in .spite of their 

 moult, your January hatched pullets have earned as much 

 above the cost of feed on January 1st as your later hatched 

 birds that did not moult. This is because they mature 

 and become self-sustaining quicker than the later birds. 



