26 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. ig02. 



BREEDING FOR EGG PRODUCTION. 

 G. M. Gowell. 



For several years past the Station has been breeding Barred 

 Plymouth Rock and White Wyandotte hens with the hope of 

 increasing the number and improving the size and color of the 

 eggs. 



In 1898 trap nests were devised and placed in all of the breed- 

 ing pens, as described in the 14th annual report of the Station. 

 This was done so that the producing capacities of hens could be 

 known, and selections for breeding could be made upon merit 

 alone. 



It is known that the laws of inheritance and transmission are 

 as true with birds as with cattle, sheep and horses and when we 

 consider the wonderful advance in egg production that the hen 

 has made since her domestication, there is ample reason for 

 assuming that a higher average production than the present can 

 be secured by breeding only to those birds that are themselves 

 large producers. It has been found in our practice with the trap 

 nest, that with the most careful selection we could make when 

 estimating the capacities for egg yielding, by the types and forms 

 of birds, that we were still including in our breeding pens hens 

 that were small workers. 



A study of the monthly record sheets which follow, not only 

 show great differences in the capacities of hens but marked vari- 

 ations in the regularity of their work ; some commencing early 

 in November, and continuing laying heavily and regularly month 

 after month, while others varied much, laying well one month 

 and poorly or not at all the next. It is impossible to account for 

 these vagaries as the birds in each breed were bred alike, and 

 selected for their uniformity. All pens were of the same size 

 and shape and contained the same number of birds. Their feed- 

 ing and treatment were alike throughout. Many of the light 

 layers gave evidence of much vitality, and in many instances 

 there were no marked indications, in form or type, by which we 

 were able to account for the small amount of work performed by 

 them. 



