26 



period, and it will be nothing uncommon for orders to be placed 

 six months or even a year in advance. Delay in ordering may 

 prevent many from keeping a back yard flock. 



Laying Indications. 



The laying hen has a well-developed comb and w^attles, red 

 in color, but not necessarily bright, as many suppose. The eye 

 is bright and the head has a healthy appearance. She is alert, 

 very active and always ready for food, — one of the first to 

 come down from the roost in the morning and the last to re- 

 tire. If the hens are observed for a short time before going to 

 roost, those that are laying w^ill be seen visiting the shell box, 

 occasionally several times during a period of fifteen minutes. 

 The abdomen is well filled out; this does not mean that it 

 must be over large or baggy in appearance. The pelvic bones 

 near the vent are well separated; usually three fingers, side by 

 side, can be placed between these. However, this is not an 

 absolute criterion on account of the varying size of hens or 

 pullets, even of the same breed. The edges or lips of the vent 

 appear somewhat enlarged. By comparing the vents of laying 

 hens with those of the male birds or undeveloped pullets the 

 amateur will have a thorough understanding of what is meant. 

 The above does not refer to the number of eggs that a hen has 

 laid or will lay, but is merely an indication of a laying hen at 

 any given period. 



Characteristics of Layers. 

 Much study has been given recently to the disappearance of 

 the yellow pigment from the shanks, beak, skin and other parts 

 of the bird during the laying period. This applies, of course, 

 only to those varieties that have yellow shanks and skin. When 

 the pullet begins to lay in the fall or early winter, or the hen after 

 the molting period, she has a fairly good supply of yellow pig- 

 ment in the parts mentioned, but as the laying period advances, 

 the pigment gradually disappears so that the comparative 

 amount at any given period is a fair indication of the laying 

 quality of the bird. I wish to emphasize the term comparative 

 because hens and pullets vary considerably in the amount of 

 pigment at the beginning of a laying period. This fact must 



