BREEDING FOR EGG PRODUCTION 253 
bird which is a heavy layer merely during the three spring months, 
for she is often found to lack the persistency so essential to a heavy 
yearly production. 
Only mature birds, male and female, should be used in breed- 
ing for egg production, for these are more prepotent, and will 
produce offspring with more vigor and vitality and of larger size 
when adults. Hens should be used, not pullets. 
Practise line breeding to fix and intensify the good qualities 
of the strain in regard to fecundity. This avoids the dangers 
attendant upon out-crossing. 
The introduction of low fe- 
cundity lines by the use of 
males of unknown pedigree is 
evidently a very bad mistake. 
Early-producing Pullets. 
—By selecting for breeders 
hens which were early pro- - 
ducers in their pullet year, it 
is possible to intensify this 
characteristic in the progeny, 
and not only is this quality 
in itself desirable, but a heavy 
yearly productionisseldomat- 
tained without it. Early pro- 
duction, say October of the 
pullet year, means an early 
‘ rare! Fie. 127.—‘‘ Lady Showyou,’’ a white Plym- 
winter start, which signifies outh Rock hen that laid 281 eggs in twelve mouths, 
re! : winning the Missouri National Egg-Laying Con- 
a good yield for the winter test. Note the ragged condition of the plumage, 
: the pale shank and the bright, prominent eye. 
months and promises for the (Photo by the Missouri State Poultry Experiment 
Station.) 
individual a high yearly total. 
Late Molters.—It has been proved by experiment and obser- 
vation that the bird which molts the latest is, in the majority 
of cases, the heaviest layer; in other words, the hen that molts 
in July or August, and gets her new plumage and makes a fine 
appearance early, is not the one that is the heavy layer (Fig. 
127). The one that is laying eggs until cool weather in the fall is 
the one that does not molt until late, but looks shabby and raw 
during that time; nevertheless, when she does start, the molt is 
usually rapid and complete, leaving her in good condition to com- 
mence laying in early winter. This external feature, the molt, 
is of practical value in selecting persistent layers. 
