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HOW TO PREVENT EGGS FROM HATCHING. 



Some fanciers have a surplus of high-priced eggs which they do 

 not care to put on the market and have some one buy them at mar- 

 ket prices and hatch chicks from them. They attempt -to prevent this 

 by punching a pin hole in the large end of the egg. Others grease the 

 eggs. Others dip them in hot water for a few seconds. We don't 

 approve of any such practices. If you have any eggs to market, it is 

 best not to allow male birds with your laying hens. Such eggs keep 

 much longer than those fertilized. 



HOW TO TELL THE AGE OF A FOWL. 



You can rarely tell the age of a fowl after it is over one year old. 

 The tip of the breast bone in a young chicken is flexible, so are the 

 pelvic bones, but are rigid in the old fowl. The legs and toes of a 

 young bird are much smoother than the old. There are fewer pin 

 feathers in the old bird and more long hairs. The plumage of the 

 young bird is usually brighter and smoother, and not so faded as in 

 the older bird. The face of the old bird is more wrinkled, and there 

 is more of a shrunken appearance around the eyes. The hen often 

 has a baggy, broken down effect behind. The spurs are an indication 

 of age. If you notice beneath the wings of an old bird, you will fail 

 to see an evidence of veins, but in the younger birds, the purple 

 colored v,eins are visible under the wing. You will find the bottom or 

 ball of the foot of the mature birds harder and more calloused than 

 in the case of the younger fowl. 



A CATCHING HOOK. 



We should always be as gentle with our flocks as possible, and 

 frighten them no more than absolutely necessary. Every farmer and 

 poultryman should have several catching hooks about the farm. They 

 save time in catching your poultry, and often prevent injury to the 

 bird occasionally by fright. Take an ordinary broom handle and 



Detail of catching-hook 



Every farm should have one or more catching hooks. 



attach a six-foot piece of No. 10 steel wire to it. Bend it to the proper 

 shape, as shown in the accompanying illustration. It makes it much 

 better and more rigid if you reinforce the main wire with a second 

 wire of like size, as shown in the illustration. You can bend and thus 

 increase or diminish the size of the hook to correspond with the size 

 of fowl's leg which you are attempting to catch. Slip the hook 

 quietly down toward the fowl, and quickly reach it around the shank 

 just above the foot, and the fowl can then be gently drawn towards 

 you and its foot released. Be careful not to injure its legs. 



