34. EGGS AND POULTRY 
price. You must understand that hens past 
the pullet age begin to stop laying in August 
because nature requires that they rest, shed 
their old feathers and put on their new winter 
plumage. This molting season is a trying 
period in a bird’s life. The hens lay fewer 
and fewer eggs, finally none at all, if they 
are molting fast, until they have acquired 
their new feathers. This consumes two to 
three months. 
At the beginning of the molting season the 
poultryman decides as to the hens he will 
dispose of and sells them either as meat, or 
breeders if he has a well known breed. If 
sold as meat Leghorn fowls would return 50 
to 75 cents each; but if you have this other 
market, from $1.00 to $2.00. Unless you 
have spent considerable money for your first 
stock and have done some advertising you 
will find that it is not as easy a proposition 
as it would seem. If I were looking for 100 
breeding hens I would buy first hand from 
the experienced, well known fancier. For 
this reason the beginner should be careful 
how he takes the statements of the successful 
breeder and compares or uses them as a 
basis of figuring his expected profits in the 
start; otherwise disappointment is likely to 
follow. 
