THE BREEDING STOCK 



NECESSITY OF CAREFUL SELECTION-BREEDERS SHOULD BE SOUND, VIGOROUS AND 

 WELL MATURED-PRACTICAL POINTS ON MATING, FOOD, CARE AND MANAGE- 

 MENT OF BREEDING STOCK-HAVE FERTILE EGGS-HOW TO DETECT STERILITY 



P. T. WOODS, M. D. 



I HERE are few poult rymen who recognize the great 

 importance of the condition of tlie breeding 

 stock from which the eggs for incubation are 

 taken and its relation to their success or failure. 

 The breeding stock is the foundation of the busi- 

 ness, the life of your undertaking and the 

 source of all the eggs which you intend shall 

 produce chickens. Unless the breeding birds are 

 sound, health}' and in the best possible condition for the 

 reproduction of their kind, satisfactory results cannot be 

 obtained. Eggs from well-fed, sound parent stock will 

 hatch strong, sturdy chicks, even under what are consid- 

 ered quite unfavorable conditions. Eggs from birds out 

 of condition, either from inbreeding, unsanitary surround- 

 ings, improper food, sickness or other causes, will never 

 produce chicks that are worth the trouble it takes to hatch and 

 rear them. When chicks die in the shell, are slow to hatch, or 

 die off in large numbers within ten days after hatching, do not 

 blame the incubator or brooder. First investigate carefully 

 the condition of the breeding stock and the care, housing and 

 food they receive. Nine times out of ten you will find that there 

 is where the trouble lies. Breed for health if you wish to have 

 and produce healthy chicks. Feed, house and care for health 

 if you would keep your stock healthy. Remember that the 

 eggs are the seed from which you expect to produce and grow 

 your crop of chicks; you cannot get good wheat from poor seed. 

 It takes generations of careful selection to produce the best. 

 Even then poor care and careless management may spoil it all. 

 It is just the same with chickens whether you use artificial or 

 natural methods. To be successful you must start right; get 

 a solid, lasting foundation. 



Breed for the health of future generations by beginning 

 now to select your breeders for soundness, vigor — in a word — 

 Health. Keep them healthy by good food, good care and good 

 management. Do not sow poor seed. 



THE SELECTION OF THE BREEDING MALE 



From the breeders standpoint the male bird is practically 

 one-half of the breeding pen, i. e., you depend on him to fertil- 

 ize the eggs laid by all the hens with which he is mated. For 

 this reason whatever else you do, you cannot afford to be care- 

 less or indifferent in your selection of the cock or cockerel that 

 is to head the pen. Furthermore, he must be carefully watched 

 to see that he is capable of performing the duty to which he 

 is assigned. Any laxness in this particular is fatal to good 

 results. 



Aside from being a typical standard specimen of the vari- 

 ety which he represents, he should also typify perfect health 

 and soundness. Inferior or unhealthy male birds have no place 

 whatever in the breeding pen. Never breed from a, bird that 

 has had or has apparently recovered from any serious sick- 

 ness. In selecting a male bird for the head of a breeding pen, 

 choose one that is well proportioned, of good size and well 

 matured; broad, smooth backed; tail well spread at base of A 

 (don't breed a ''pinched tail"); full, deep chested; stout, strong 

 legs and thighs set well apart, good carriage and symmetry; 

 well-formed comb and wattles, neither too large nor too small, 

 of a bright, healthy red; keen, sharp, bright eyes; a well-shaped. 



stout beak of medium length, the whole head being perfectly 

 proportioned to the body and carried in a manner that gives 

 the birds an alert, active, business-like appearance. He should 

 be in the best possible condition and capable of taking his place 

 as head of the pen and holding it against all comers. Aggres- 

 siveness in the male bird is a desirable quality. "Hen-feather- 

 ed" males with an effeminate disposition have no place in the 

 breeding pen. 



DISQU.a.LIFICATIONS IN THE BREEDING MALE 



Do not breed from any bird, no matter how perfect a stand- 

 ard specimen he may seem to be, if he shows the following sjrmp- 

 toms indicating that he is physically unsound: 



Shortness of breath on running or jumping; blueness or 

 dark color of comb, face and wattles after chasing a hen or 

 attempting service; pale face and comb; rattling in throat; 

 canker of throat or mouth that does not yield promptly to treat- 

 ment; putrid discharge from nostrils; foul discharge from vent; 

 vertigo; violent shaking of the head with tendency to step back- 

 ward or to one side; staggering or wobbling gait; jerking walk 

 like "spring halt"; paralysis of any kind; emaciated, debili- 

 tated condition; leg weakness; foot, hock or wing ulcers or ab- 

 scesses; deformities of any kind or any other symptom of a dis- 

 eased condition. Examine the mouth and throat carefully 

 and discard the bird if the mucous membrane appears unhealthy. 

 Note carefully the condition of the legs, (Scaly leg can be 

 easily cured, but it should be done before the bird is placed in 

 the breeding pen, for the disease is contagious). If the legs 

 feel hot and dry, look closely for other symptons of disease. 

 Hot feet and legs mean that something is wrong with the bird. 

 It is a sure sign. 



Breeding from an unhealthy male is sure to result in dis- 

 appointment; either he will not fertilize the eggs at all or you 

 will get weak germs. Weak germs are the cause of chicks dy- 

 ing at all stages of developement during incubation and for 

 several days after hatching. Also there is always the possibil- 

 ity and probabiUty that chicks from such source, if they hve, 

 will inherit some tendency to disease, which will result in direct 

 losses or indirect ones by continuance of the inheritance of an 

 unsound constitution in the progeny, that years of careful 

 breeding, later, will find it difficult to uproot. 



CARE OF THE BREEDING MALE 



When you get a sound healthy male bird try to keep him 

 in good condition. If he is as gallant and attentive as he should 

 be during the breeding season, he may easily get out of condition. 

 Avoid this by removing him from the flock occasionally and 

 feeding a few tid-bits of fresh meat (cooked or uncooked) fresh 

 green food and a mixture of hard grains. You will run no risk 

 by keeping him for a day or two in a comfortable coop apart 

 from the flock where he cannot see or hear the hens, and it may 

 save him from wasting his energies in useless services. This 

 is important for an active, attentive male, when running with 

 his flock, often does not eat a sufficient amount of food to keep 

 himself in the best condition. A little attention given to sup- 

 plying him with occasional meals away from his harem will 

 be well repaid in the results gained thereby. Keeping the male 

 bird with the hens'will not insure strongly fertile eggs unless 



16 



