THE EGG AND ITS GERM 



month, providing the hen was just starting a litter at the time 

 of service. 



Prom this it follows that it is not necessary to waste the 

 strength of the male bird in useless service. Where the poultry- 

 man possesses an especially fine male from which he desires to 

 obtain the greatest possible number of chicks, the bird could 

 be made to care for a considerable flock of females by mating 

 him only with the layers or those about to lay; or by dividing the 

 layers into several flocks and permitting the male to run for a 

 few days twice a month with each flock, giving him brief intervals 

 of rest between. In fact, it is possible and quite practicable as 

 well to keep an exceptionally fine male "standing at stud" as 

 is common in breeding other domestic animals, and to bring the 

 females to him for service at regular intervals once every week 

 or two weeks; always endeavoring to have the hen served when 

 about to begin her lay. 



TESTS OF STERILITY 



There is only one way to test the fecundity of the male 

 bird and that is by mating him to several females and then 



hatches are seldom as satisfactory since the germs are more 

 liable to be weak. 



■ Semi-confinement in large runs and roomy houses will give 

 good results if the fowls are well cared for. The quarters should 

 be kept in good sanitary condition and the ground of the runs 

 kept sweet by plowing and planting at regular intervals not 

 too far apart. 



Close confinement in cramped quarters and small runs is 

 fatal to successful breeding. Exercise is essential to health and 

 the breeding stock must be kept busy if fertile eggs and strong 

 germs are wanted. 



SUGGESTIONS AS TO HOUSING 



Breeding birds should be comfortably housed, but this 

 does not mean that they ne^d to be pampered or to have speci- 

 ally constructed poultry houses or buildings supplied with arti- 

 ficial heat. The men who are getting the best results in pro- 

 ducing eggs that hatch well in the winter season house their 

 birds in what are commonly spoken of as cold houses. 

 These are tight, well-made buildings either provided with 



9— WHITE WYANDOTTE PULLETS RESTING ON A HOT SUMMER DAY 



incubating their eggs. If the eggs do not show a good percent- 

 age strongly fertile, the male is useless as a breeder. 



Sterile females can be located by means of trap nests and 

 individual egg records. If after incubating a number of eggs 

 from any hen a large percentage show infertile, try her with 

 another male and test the eggs again. If she still fails to pro- 

 duce fertile eggs in sufiicient numbers to make her worth using, 

 discard her. 



Hens with very long, downy fluff feathers (particularly 

 Cochins and Brahmas) will sometimes appear to be sterile, but 

 if the fluff is plucked or clipped so as not to interfere with ser- 

 vice, they usually prove to be all right and produce their share 

 of fertile eggs. 



FREE RANGE VS. CONFINEMENT 



Birds on free range, if otherwise well cared for, will pro- 

 duce a greater percentage of strongly fertile eggs than those 

 kept in confinement, other things being equal. The confined 

 birds may produce a considerable number of fertile eggs, but Xhe 



scratching sheds where the fowls can have a sheltered place to 

 exercise and are at the same time supplied with an abundance 

 of fresh air, or closed houses having windows or doors in the 

 front which are opened wide daily to admit a large volume of 

 fresh air and practically convert the house into an open shed. 

 In such buildings the birds keep in better health and are less 

 liable to colds than when confined in warm houses and houses 

 supplied with artificial heat. 



In the matter of housing the safest plan is to provide com- 

 fortable, tight buildings, so arranged that they can be thorough- 

 ly aired and sunned daily while the birds are exercising. Keep 

 these buildings practically wide open throughout the day ex- 

 cept on very stormy days. In most localities there will be 

 very few days in winter when the house cannot be kept open for 

 a few hours during some portion of the day. Such houses 

 should always be closed at least an hour or two before dark 

 and remain tightly closed all night. Keep the houses clean and 

 in a sanitary condition. Filth and success are sworn enemies 



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