A GUIDE FOR KEEPERS OF POULTRY 291 
males in the same yards with them. In the Australian 
laying competitions 186 eggs were laid in a year by 600 
hens, this record being the average for the whole number. 
An average of 241 eggs each was made by six of these 
hens kept in one pen. 
SHIPPING CRATES.—On page 247 are given illus- 
trations of the crates used in shipping breeding fowls to 
distant points. Where the fowls are to be more than 24 
hours on the road a cup of water should be fastened in 
one corner at a convenient distance from the bottom for 
the fowls to drink from, and so placed that the express 
messenger can easily put water init. The shipping crate 
for young chicks (page 247) shows how the separate trays 
are fastened together and how each tray is divided into 
four sections in order to prevent too much jostling of the 
chicks. The trays should be lined with some soft ma- 
terial and each covered with burlap. 
SHRINKAGE OF DRESSING FOWLS.—Fowls lose 
from 8 to 11 per cent in dressing without removing the 
intestines. When the intestines are removed the shrink- 
age runs from 25 to 30 per cent. These figures are the 
result of numerous tests. When fowls are well fattened 
and have been deprived of feed for at least 12 hours be- 
fore being killed, as all fowls should be, the shrinkage will 
not exceed the smaller percentages named given. The 
foreman of a large packing house has estimated the 
shrinkage from dressing at about 10 per cent, but the 
fowls he referred to were fattened perfectly and left with- 
out feed for 24+ hours before being killed. The shrinkage 
from other classes of poultry does not vary widely from 
the figures given. 
SIX HUNDRED HENS.—One of the most instructive 
experiments on a large scale ever carried out was con- 
