THE CALL OF THE HEN. 83 



use the figures 1, 3, 5, and 7 /i for the three-, four-, five- and six-finger- 

 abdomen hens. You perceive that the older the hen the greater the 

 number of eggs she must have laid in her first year. Here in California 

 we keep large numbers of hens, and in this way we can sort out and 

 market here each year in a short time, as we do not have to stop and 

 figure out the percentage of loss for each year of age, as these figures 

 come near enough to suit our purpose. If they do not suit the local 

 market, the reader can use any figures that will. 



I shall give a few examples only to show how we would proceed to 

 cull out the hens. The reader must be familiar with the general principles 

 of capacity, condition, and type. He should by this time have familiar- 

 ized himself with the charts. Now, if he prepares the figures as I have 

 directed, he will experience no difficulty in determining in a moment 

 just where and what to do with each individual hen. We establish a 

 certain standard of production for the first laying season, in order to 

 know how long to keep her. You may take 80 eggs for one season, 120 

 eggs for two seasons, and 150 eggs for three seasons, or any other set 

 that suits your local conditions. Here we take about 120, 150, and 180 

 eggs as the standard ; that is, a hen must be able to lay about this number 

 in her first laying year in order to stay with us for two, three, or four 

 seasons. With this explanation, we shall proceed to cull, putting into 

 the shipping-coop all hens that fall below our standard, and dropping 

 in the yard where we stand any that we desire to keep. 



Now, take a hen out of the catching-coop as in Fig. 3, and hold her 

 as near as possible as in Fig. 5. Place hand on abdomen. She may 

 be one-finger abdomen, in good condition; her pelvic bone may be */i 

 of an inch thick; her capacity is three dozen eggs her first laying-year. 

 She has laid all these eggs and will lay no more until the next spring 

 when the crows lay, and eggs are cheap; so we decide to put this hen in 

 the shipping-crate, to be sent to market. 



We take another hen from the catching-coop, and go through the 

 same process. She may be a two-finger abdomen hen, in good condition ; 

 her pelvic bones */i6 of an inch thick; this indicates a hen that may lay 

 eight dozen of eggs her first laying year. As a rule, when hens are so 

 fed and cared for, they will lay their maximum number of eggs their 

 first laying year; they will, as a rule, lay about 15 per cent less each year 

 after, provided, they are given the same care and feed. In this case 

 the hen in hand might lay about 85 eggs; if you think that will pay you, 

 let the hen drop out of your hands into the yard where you are standing; 

 if you think it will not pay to keep her, put her in the shipping-crate 

 for the market. 



The next hen may be two fingers abdomen, one finger out of condi- 

 tion, as in Fig. 20, with pelvic bones J4 of an inch thick. If this hen's 

 comb and wattles are red, and the hen is strong and active, being one 

 finger out of condition indicates that she is not being properly cared for, 

 either in food or environment, or both; in the condition she is in at 

 present, if continued the whole year, she might lay about 69 eggs, while 

 if kept in normal condition, she might lay 138 eggs. (See Chart 3.) 

 So we will call her a good hen, and drop her. 



The next hen may be three fingers abdomen, 6 /i6~ mcn pelvic bone, 

 and in normal condition. If this hen were in Petaluma, we would drop 

 her, as she would be a paying hen. By referring to the chart, you will 

 see that she is a 124-egg type hen. You must bear in mind constantly 



