THE CALL OF THE HEN. 79> 



in same as in Fig. 1. When there are enough hens in the 

 coop, shut down slide door that holds them in. In this case it 

 is necessary to keep only four figures in mind, any four you 

 prefer will do. Here in California I use Figs. 5-7-9-11, for the 

 hens sixteen-months old. Figs. 3-5-7-9 for the hens twenty- 

 eight-months old, and Figs. 1-3-5-7, for hens forty-months old. 

 We keep large numbers of hens, and in this way we can sort 

 out the market hens each year in a short time, as we do not 

 have to stop and figure out the percentage of loss for each 

 year of age, as these figures come near enough to suit our 

 purpose. If they do not suit the local market the reader can 

 use any figures that will 



Now take a hen out of the catching coop as in Fig. 3, and 

 hold her as near as possible as in Fig. 5. Place hand on abdo- 

 men. She may be one finger abdomen in good condition, her 

 pelvic bone may be one-sixteenth of an inch thick, her capac- 

 ity is three dozen eggs her first laying year. She has laid all 

 these eggs, and will lay no more until the next spring, when' 

 the crows lay and eggs are cheap. So we decide to put this liner* 1 

 in the shipping crate, to be sent to market. We take another 

 hen from the catching coop, and go through the same process. 

 She may be a two fingered abdomen hen in good condition, 

 her pelvic bones one-sixteenth of an inch thick. This indicates 

 a hen that may lay eight dozen eggs her first laying year. As 

 a rule when hens are so fed and cared for they will lay their 

 maximum number of eggs their first laying year. They will 

 as a rule lay about 15 per cent less each year after, provided^ 

 they arc given the same care and feed. In this case the hen' 

 in hand might lay about eighty-five eggs. If you think that will' 

 pay you let the hen drop out of your hands into the yard 

 where you are standing. If you think it will not pay to keep 

 her, put her in the shipping crate for the market. The next 

 lien may be two fingers abdomen, one finger out of condition 

 as in Fig. 20, with pelvic bones one-fourth of an inch thick. If 

 this hen's comb and wattles are red and the hen is strong and 

 active, being one finger out of condition indicates that she is 

 not being properly cared for, either in feed or environment, or 

 both. In the condition she is in at present, if continued the 

 whole year, she might lay about sixty-nine eggs, while if kept 

 in normal condition she might lay 138 eggs. (See chart No. 3.) 

 So we call her a good hen and drop her. 



