60 



disease, the fertility will be low. Inbreeding also tends to infer- 

 tility. So does lack of exercise and overfat condition of fowls in 

 the breeding pen. 



Doubtless diet has an important effect upon fertility. Unless 

 every element needed for the embryo is present, the egg will be 

 infertile or the chick will die in the shell. There are some kinds 

 of food that stimulate the genital organs and promote sexual 

 activity. Raw onions chopped fine and fed in the mash twice a 

 week are excellent during the breeding season. Clover is also a 

 valuable food for fertility. 



Where fertile eggs are wanted the hen must not be pushed too 

 hard for egg production. My own method is to push my pullets 

 the first year. I reserve the best layers to breed from, and do not 

 push them the second year ; but let them take things easy. They 

 have made their record and deserve a rest. When the breeding 

 season comes they are in prime condition, and lay large, highly 

 colored eggs which hatch hardy chicks. 



It pays to alternate males where high fertility is desired, allow- 

 ing three males for two pens, keeping two in active service and 

 the third shut up to rest. Cocks have their favorites, and where 

 one male runs with a flock some hens are neglected; but where 

 males are alternated all are likely to be served. 



Many eggs fail to hatch because they are not properly cared 

 for. It takes but little to kill the germ. One reason farmers get 

 such poor results in winter is that they are not careful to gather 

 their eggs several times a day. The opinion is common among 

 them that an egg must be frozen hard enough to crack the shell 

 before it is unfit to put under a hen. Eggs should be gathered 

 when warm and kept in a temperature of from 40 to 60 degrees. 

 In shipping eggs to customers they should be moved in the 

 middle of the day and protected from extremes of temperature as 

 much as possible. 



WHY EGGS ARE NOT FERTILE IN WINTER. 



Almost every winter some person of my acquaintance buys an 

 incubator and starts in to raise broilers for the city market. The 

 result is inevitably disappointment. The percentage of fertility 

 is so low and the mortality among the chicks so great, that the 

 books show a loss instead of a profit at the end of the season. 

 The reason why the fertility is so low in winter is purely physio- 

 logical. "The testicles of birds vary greatly in size according to 



