THE CALL OF THE HEN. 71 



able to withstand the vicissitudes of the poultry-yard than 

 her finer-bred sisters. I will have more to say along this 

 line in the chapter on Broilers. I think we have given suffi- 

 cient examples in Chapters III., IV., V., VI. and VII. to enable 

 the reader to examine a hen so he may be able to arrive 

 at her approximate value for the purpose he wishes to use 

 her for. 



In a previous chapter we have said there is occasionally 

 found a hen seven fingers abdomen. If the reader finds one, 

 he can score her by Chart 6 and add 15 eggs to the number 

 indicated. For instance, if the hen is in good condition and 

 measures seven fingers abdomen and her pelvic bones are 3 /s 

 inch thick, Chart 6 would indicate she is a 205-egg type 

 bird; we then add 15 eggs to the 205, which gives the hen 

 220-egg capacity. If she is five fingers abdomen and two 

 fingers out of condition, we call her seven fingers abdomen, 

 and proceed as above, which gives us the same results. 



There are two other matters I wish to call the attention 

 of the reader to in this place. One is, that I have found hens 

 occasionally that laid a great deal better by the trap-nest 

 than they scored by the Hogan test, but it was owing to a 

 mistake made in measuring their abdomens, owing to the rear 

 of the breast-bone turning up, sometimes almost an inch over 

 normal shape, thus indicating a smaller abdomen than really 

 was the case. The other matter is a more serious one in 

 fact, very serious in some flocks. It is the bagging down of 

 the abdomen over the rear of the breast-bone. Every hen 

 used in the breeding-pen should be examined for this defect, 

 for if one of them is bred from, she is almost sure to transmit 

 her weak ovarian system to her offspring. Some of these 

 hens will make remarkable egg records for a year or so, then 

 will never lay another egg; and again, the eggs are liable to 

 be very infertile and more or less thin-shelled ; and if you have 

 great numbers of hens, you can hardly tell when these hens 

 stop laying for good, unless you trap-nest them, as their pelvic 

 bones do not close up as readily as hens in normal condition. 



An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure in this 

 case, as it is very easy to prevent all this trouble. I meet 

 hundreds of the above hens in my visits to poultry plants, 

 but never have a case in my yards. I examine all my pullets 

 when about a year old for possible breeders. If a hen satisfies 



