May, 1925] FARM PRODUCTION IN CHESHIRE COUNTY 



Fig. 9. 



POULTRY SALES IN LOCAL AND OUTSIDE MARKETS 

 KEENE. NEW HAMPSHIRE 



33 



20 



THOUSANDS OF POUNDS 

 40 60 80 



100 



120 



HENS 



ROASTERS 



BROILERS - 



OTHER POULTRY 



changing tlieir production practices to obtain the most economical gains 

 on their poultry and best meet the demands of the egg and poultry mar- 

 ket. Present practices in the county are shown by the following inventory 

 of poultry on farms, October 1, 1923 and 1924: 



1923. 1924. 



Hens, number 41,560 34,930 



Pullets, number 41 ,790 47,()()0 



Roosters, number 11 ,400 14,.S00 



Other poultry, number 1,630 3,550 



Nearly 15,000 roosters and 35,000 hens were kept on farms in this coun- 

 ty until October 1. The roosters probably weighed about five pountls 

 per bird, and would have sold for about 22 or 23 cents per pound. Since 

 the amount of feed required per pound of gain increases rapidly with the 

 weight of the bird, as shown in the following table, and the price per pound 

 decreases, these roosters were kept at a loss during the last two to three 

 months. From a large number of feeding experiments, it has been found 

 that the following amounts are recjuired for each pound of gain per bird: 



1st pound gain requires 3 pounds grain 

 2nd " " " 3| " 



3rd " " " 5 



4th " " " 11 



5th " " " 18 



'i'otal for r,-i)<)uiHl bird 40| " 



In other words, the first (ii pounds of grain will produce a bird weigh- 

 ing about two pounds, which will bring around 80 cents on the early 

 broiler market, while an additional 34 pounds of grain will increase the 

 weight of the bird to five pounds, and its value to only around $1.10. 



The advisability of selling off the old hens and depending on the pullets 

 for egg production is based on the same principle. Gains in weight or 

 the maintenance of the weight of hens require a much larger amount 

 of feed than for pullets. The poultry specialists of the State University 

 have been advocating this practice for some time, and the increase in the 

 proportion of pullets in the 1924 over the 1923 inventory indicates that 

 some of the farmers are adopting it. 



