CHAPTER VI 



EARLY HATCHING 



MARCH should be the busy month in the poultry 

 plant. It is virtually the opening of the breeding 

 season. There is much to do for those who realize 

 the importance of having as many early hatched 

 pullets as possible. The old saying is "the March 

 pullet the big money maker," and this is especially 

 true in the larger breeds, the kind that do not 

 develop so rapidly. March pullets will lay, or 

 rather should lay, early in the fall, just about the 

 time the old hens are beginning to molt, and 

 naturally stop laying. The cockerels hatched dur- 

 ing this month will make early summer broilers, or 

 early fall roasters, hence commanding a better 

 price than those hatched later. 



Those catering to the fancy side of the business 

 will find the March hatched birds more valuable 

 both as breeders and as a salable proposition. Early 

 hatched fancy fowls are much in demand for the 

 fall fairs and early shows, and also have a decided 

 advantage in competition at the winter poultry 

 exhibitions. They are more developed in the 

 various points which go to make up the particular 

 breed to which they belong. 



It is not so difficult to hatch the early chicks, but 



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