THE EGG AND ITS GERM 



SELECTING THE EGGS 



Not only should we select the breeding stock, but we should 

 ''select" the eggs laid by the breeding stock. Do not set an 

 egg, even from your best hen, if it is a poor egg; by which we 

 mean poorly-shelled, poorly shaped, or otherwise lacking in the 

 qualities which make up a good egg. The fancy poultry breed- 

 er gives too little heed to the most important points of strength 

 and vigor of the chicks, and will use misshapen and poorly shell- 

 ed eggs if the hen that laid them is all right — is possibly a first 

 prize winner. He is thinking of the fine points of the hen and 

 not at all of whether the chicks hatched from those eggs will 

 grow up strong, sturdy and vigorous. The practical poultry- 

 man, on the contrary, can ignore the show qualities, and should 

 consider only the strength and vigor of the offspring. There- 

 fore, after we have selected our best breeding birds, paying par- 

 ticular attention to the points requisite for constitutional health 



full strength and vigor. Such will produce good chicks if the 

 females are right. 



It is sometimes advisable, too, to alternate males in the 

 pens. One breeder got 79 per cent hatch from all eggs put in 

 his incubators, and one of the methods he employed was to have 

 six breeding males for four breeding pens, and keep the males 

 moving from pen to pen, each male having one day in each pen 

 and two of the males being out resting all the time. There are 

 many advantages in such a plan as it prevents the male having 

 special favorites among his mates and ignoring others. Of course 

 this plan interferes with what is called "special matings," but for 

 the practical poultry raiser special matings are tmnecessary. The 

 points for him to consider are strength and vigor of the chicks, 

 and to that end he should study the strength and vigor of the 

 breeding stock and the conditions which promote the good health 

 of that stock, and then aim to produce "good hatchable eggs"- 



and vigor, we should reject every egg that is questionable, and 

 put in the incubator or imder the hens only such as give the best 

 promise of producing first quality chicks. 



Undoubtedly the eggs from the year-old hens will produce 

 the largest, strongest and most robust chicks, hence, if we are 

 aiming at the very best results we will not breed from pullets, 

 even though they be a full year old at the breeding season; it 

 is much better that they pass through the summer and through 

 one molt so that their "staying power" becomes manifest. Not 

 infrequently a pullet which is very promising at six or eight 

 months old and proves a most excellent layer for a time, develops 

 some constitutional weakness, or some defect develops. 



Such ilhiess is good and sufficient evidence of lack of vigor, 

 and the manifestation of any lack of vigor should exclude the 

 bird from the breeding pen. Be sure that the cockerels put in 

 the pens are early hatched and fully matured, with stout, sturdy 

 legs and broad backs; in fact, that give abundant evidence of 



FEEDING FRESH CUT BONE 



It has come to be generally understood by poultrym^n 

 that feeding meat and bone in some form is necessary if we 

 would have the chicks thrive and the pullets and hens lay eggs. 

 Animal food supplies the food elements which promote growth 

 and induce egg production; indeed, the egg shows by analysis 

 chemical constituents very similar to those of lean beef, hence 

 beef, if we could economically feed it, would give the fowls the 

 best food elements for egg production. The analysis of the 

 two is substantially as follows: 



Fresh Beef Eggs 



Water , 64 74.5 



Protein , 14 12.5 



Fat 21 12 



Salts 1 1 



It is impossible to profitably use fresh beef as a food for 

 fowls and chicks, but in the waste pieces produced in preparing 



23 



