278 MANAGEMENT OF LAYING STOCK 
able yield for December, January, and February is about 30 or 33 
per cent; that is, a well-bred flock, properly cared for and kept 
for egg production, should lay one-third as many eggs as there 
are hens. During the spring and early summer it can usually be 
raised to 50 or 60 per cent, and in some cases even higher for a 
short time. 
Where very small flocks of five to ten birds are kept, it is 
sometimes possible to get exceptionally high individual records,— 
often as high as a 100 per cent egg yield for the flock for periods 
of short duration. In large commercial flocks in which many fowls 
must be considered in getting an average, annual egg yields over 
160 or 170 eggs per bird are exceptions rather than the rule, and 
it can not be expected that whole flocks will average this number 
or anything like it. 
Improvements in Egg Production.—The efforts of, the poultry- 
man in managing the laying flock should not only be concentrated 
upon present production, but upon means and methods of increas- 
ing future production. Improvements in this line necessitate a 
close study of the individual, for it is the individual which makes 
the average, and a few poor birds greatly reduce the average of 
the better ones. In a flock of one hundred hens, it will be found 
that, on the average, perhaps 10 to 30 per cent rarely lay an egg 
during the profitable months of the year, another 5 to 10 per cent 
are totally barren, the remainder being fairly good egg layers. The 
best way to obviate this is to select or weed out the poor layers 
and keep only the best. It often proves more profitable to take 
one hundred birds out of a flock of one hundred and fifty, after 
which, with less labor, one can get nearly as many eggs and a much 
more profitable yield per bird. 
Where the selection is not made, the poor birds are fed at the 
expense of the better ones. Improvements will come largely by 
the codperation of three factors: (1) Rigid selection at the end 
of the pullet year and the mating of a breeding pen from the best 
birds. (2) By trap-nesting the individuals in this breeding pen 
during the winter and early spring, and hatching future layers 
from males and females that are themselves from prolific layers. 
(3) By producing relatively early hatches, and selecting rigidly 
throughout the growing season, keeping only the best youngsters 
for future production. 
The Keeping of Egg Records.—Success in poultry keeping is 
assured if the many details of the business are understood and are 
