30 



N. II. AGB. Experiment Station [Bulletin 365 



tion was iii October, November and December. In a general way, this 

 production curve is inverse to the price curve, suggesting that this 

 group of poultrymen is probably little better than the average in secur- 

 ing high product ion during the period of high seasonal prices. 



f-J — — n,i _ ' _ -_ — - j r-j -— — «j — f\j(Vj — — *J «-*0 — CSJ O •— W W *- » M — t_ cw »- GJ M _ _ co r 



SB 5 £ S £ 



5 o 

 4l 



fc 



Sis 4£i 5 f 



Wcek Beginning 



FIgure 8 — Average weekly percentage e^p- production curves on 2:5 farms. 



Of particular interest is the comparison of old hens and pullets. 

 Production of old hens dropped off rapidly after September 1 and 

 reached the low point of 5% on December 1. After this date it in- 

 creased rapidly, reaching 43 % by March 1 and a peak of 52 r /< the last 

 of May. Spring production of old hens was nearly as high as that of 

 pullets, while summer production averaged slightly higher. 



Since the old hens were very low in production in the fall whim the 

 seasonal high price indicates a shortage of fresh eggs, the practicabil- 

 ity of keeping old hens instead of pullets for market eggs may be ques- 

 tioned. This question will be analyzed in detail later under comparison 

 of costs. 



Keeping old hens for breeding purposes is another question, and 

 probably is an efficient method of maintaining and improving the qual- 

 ity of the stock. High production in the early spring after a long rest 

 is ideal for the production of vigorous chicks. Hens which have sur- 

 vived a year of rigorous culling and hardship may be important as 

 breeders. In this case, the low fall production when market eggs are 

 high is largely ol'fsel by good production when hatching eggs are 



needed. 



Seasonal Production on Individual Farms 



Seasonality of v^x production varied greatly on different farms. In 

 Figures 9 and 10, the per cent production is illustrated by curves for 



four individual farms. Flocks (i and 4 show a high production in Au- 

 gust, while Flocks 3 and 2 do not come to high production until after 

 the first of the S car. 



