THE MATURE FOWLS 



picked layers, their progeny will certainly develop larger laying 

 tendencies. This surely will bring "Better Poultry and More 

 of it." 



HOW TO GET HATCHABLE EGGS 



WINTER AND EARLY SPRING EGGS FOR HATCH- 

 ING—THE IMPORTANCE OF HEALTHY BREEDING 

 STOCK— HOUSING SUGGESTIONS— GREEN FOOD AN 

 ESSENTIAL — GOOD MOIST AND DRY RATIONS 



P. T. WOODS, M. D. 



Every season much disappointment is caused by a low 

 percentage of fertility in the winter and early spring eggs or 

 the failxire of such eggs to give satisfactory batches. A part of 

 the trouble is attributed, and justly so, to the severe cold weather, 

 which affects the condition of the breeding stock. It is not to 

 be expected that birds which have exhausted their vitaUty in 

 resisting a long spell of extreme cold weather will be in suitable 

 condition to supply eggs that will hatch well. But some breeders 

 get eggs that give them very satisfactory results. Every year 

 there are breeders who produce hatchable eggs that show a 

 good percentage of fertility for the season in which they are 

 laid. . If other breeders will adopt the same practical and 

 reasonable methods that are in vogue with these successful men, 

 they too wiU get good hatchable winter eggs. 



It is not practical and it is not reasonable to expect the 

 same percentage of fertile eggs early in the season that can 

 easily be obtained later, when the weather has become warmer 

 and more settled. The generative organs are not as active and 

 in the male not as fuUy developed in the winter as they are dur- 

 ing the spring months, — the natural breeding season. This 

 latter is a weU-known physiological fact and can be readily 

 demonstrated by post-mortem examinations of male birds at 

 different seasons of the year. In many cases such conditions 

 may account for low fertility where apparently the birds are 

 receiving the best of care; but if ordinary precautions are used 

 in selecting the male bird it need not prove a very serious ob- 

 stacle. 



THE BREEDING STOCK 



Wliile the selection of the male is a matter of great im- 

 portance, the selection of the females is equally important. 

 The hens must be chosen primarily for physical health and 

 soundness; unless they are strong, healthy and vigorous the re- 

 sults will not be satisfactory. All other matters are of second- 

 ary importance to health. It should be borne in mind that 

 the female, to a large extent, governs the size and shape of the; 

 progeny, the male apparently having very little influence in 

 this regard. For this reason, while large sized females may be 

 used, it is always better to have a medium sized male. A small, 

 active male is to be preferred to a large, clumsy, heavy one. 

 Very large male birds seldom give good results at the head of a 

 breeding pen. 



Never use any bird for breeding purposes until it has its 

 adult plumage. Breeding birds of either sex should be well 

 grown, fully matured, of good size and vigorous. Yearlings 

 may be mated with yearlings and very satisfactory results 

 obtained, but it is seldom advisable to mate a cockerel with 

 pullets. For pullets use either a yearling or two-year-old male. 

 With yearling or two-year-old hens it is best to use a good, 

 active, vigorous cockerel. 



Never attempt breeding from a bird that has had a serious 



HOUSE AND SHELTER FOR CHICKS 



It should always be retaembered that from a breeder's 

 standpoint the male bird is, to all practical intents and pur- 

 poses, one-half of the pen which he heads, and for this reason 

 it is very necessary to observe great care in the selection of the 

 male; he should be sound, vigorous, active and in the very best 

 physicial condition. Unless he is active and attentive to his 

 flock he will be of very Uttle use as a breeder. His actions 

 should be carefully watched and the eggs from his pen tested 

 frequently to ascertain the percentage of fertihty. If the per- 

 centage of fertihty is not satisfactory it will be well to try 

 another bird. Oftentimes, early in the season, results are 

 more satisfactory if the male is only allowed to run with the 

 pen for a week at a time and is then cooped by himself, in a 

 small, comfortable coop Uke an exhibition coop, in some build- 

 ing where he cannot hear or see the hens. Many breeders adopt 

 this method and practice what is known as "alternating males." 

 Male N0./I being allowed to run with the flock for a week, while 

 male No. 2 is confined in a small coop; then male No. 1 is re- 

 moved from the flock and confined while male No. 2 takes his 

 place, and so on throughout the breeding season. Whether this 

 practice of alternating males is adopted or not, it is always 

 advisable to have a few reserve male birds for use in case those 

 heading the pens do not prove satisfactory. 



illness during the year even though it has apparently recovered. 

 Remember always that there is a deal of truth in the saying 

 that "like produces Hke," and that if you wish to have the 

 greatest possible number of hatchable eggs that will produce 

 strong, sturdy chicks, it is absolutely essential that the breed- 

 ing stock be in the best possible condition. 



In a great majority of cases where chicks die in the shell, 

 at various stages of incubation or at pipping time, and in many 

 cases where they die without apparent cause during the first 

 ten days after hatching, the trouble is directly traceable to the 

 condition of the breeding stock. Unsound, debihtated, im- 

 properly fed breeders cannot and will not produce eggs con- 

 taining strong germs or properly proportioned yolk-food. Un- 

 less the germs are strong and unless the yolk-food is well balanced, 

 good chicks cannot be obtained. 



SUGGESTIONS AS TO HOUSING 



Breeding birds should be comfortably housed, but this does 

 not mean that they need to be pampered or to have specially 

 constructed poultry houses or buildings supplied with artificial 

 heat. The men who are getting the best results in producing 

 eggs that hatch well in the winter season, house their birds in 



103 



