28 THE CALL OF THE HEN. 



Following is a series of half-tones and explanations representing 

 the method we have used in instructing hundreds of poultrymen and 

 women in California and other States and the managers of poultry 

 plants in a number of State institutions in the State of California. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE VARIOUS STEPS IN THE APPLICATION OF THE METHOD OF THE 

 SELECTION FOR EGG-PRODUCTION. 



There are four characteristics that it is absolutely necessary for 

 a hen to possess for the economical production of eggs or meat. The 

 first is capacity, the second is condition, the third is type, and the fourth 

 is constitutional vigor. The reader must bear the first three in mind 

 in studying the next few chapters, as we will dispose of these before 

 taking other matters into consideration. 



First. What is Capacity? Capacity means the abdominal capacity 

 to consume and assimilate the amount of food necessary to produce 

 the number of eggs or amount of meat necessary to make the individual 

 hen under consideration a paying proposition. We measure the ca- 

 pacity of the hen by placing the hand across the abdomen between the 

 end of the breast-bone, or keel, and the pelvic bones. The method will 

 be shown in detail in Chapter IV. 



Second. Condition. If the hen under consideration is an egg 

 type, she must be kept in proper bodily condition by supplying her with 

 the right quantity and quality of food that will furnish her with vitality 

 material necessary to produce the number of eggs required of her. If 

 the hen is in good condition, the flesh on the breast will be plump or 

 practically flush with the breast-bone. Any variation in that condition 

 will be shown by a shrinking away of the flesh of the breast, and will be 

 followed by a corresponding shrinking of the abdomen. We show this 

 by illustration and example later. 



Third. Type. She must be of a type that everything she consumes 

 is used in producing the desired effect, whether it is meat, whether it is 

 eggs, or whether it is the maximum amount of eggs and meat that a 

 dual-purpose hen can produce. According to our idea, the type of hen 

 determines how she will dispose of the food she eats. The kind of type 

 is shown by the relative thickness of the pelvic bones. The very thin 

 bone indicates the egg type. As we pass into the dual-purpose and beef 

 types we find the bones becoming thicker. We show these by illustrations 

 and charts later. 



With the reader bearing the above three propositions in mind- 

 namely, Capacity, Condition and Type we will proceed to show how 

 to judge the hen with the least amount of time and labor. 



Fig. 1 shows the interior of an open-front colony house, largely used 

 around Petaluma. The roosts are connected to the house by hinges, so 

 they can be hooked up out of the way while cleaning the house or ex- 

 amining the hens, as in the present case. These houses are usually 

 about 8 feet wide and 10 feet deep inside, with 4 feet posts and pitch 

 roof. These houses are open front, with the exception of 18 inches on 

 each side, as can be seen on one side, where hens are going out of the 

 house into the catching-coop. When hens move too slow to suit, one 



