Hubbard's poultry secrets. 65 



ditioned your chances of winning are very poor, for a fair bird 

 in good condition will defeat a good bird in poor condition. If 

 you handle your male birds as I do, in houses and yards as de- 

 scribed for housing male birds, a week in the training coop 

 will be all they need to put them into prime condition. This 

 is more of a job than one would think. 



How often we hear said, "I have my birds in fine condi- 

 tion — they are all two pounds over-weight." One or two 

 pounds over-weight is no indication that a bird is in prime 

 condition, and I find, that it is almost impossible to get a bird 

 into prime condition that is over-fat. Figure to have your 

 birds at their best the day that they are to be judged. A bird 

 will stay in prime condition from three to five days. See to 

 it that your birds are not in prime condition five days before, 

 or five days after they are to be judged, but have them on time. 

 It takes from six to ten days to get a bird prime. 



My method of training and conditioning for the show room 

 is as follows : Before putting the birds in their training 

 coops, all coops should be thoroughly cleaned, dusted, and 

 sprayed with kerosene. Use fine hay or straw for litter. A 

 handful of grit, shells and charcoal (about equal parts) should 

 be in the corner of each training coop. Litter should be 

 changed every other day to keep the birds looking fresh and 

 clean. Birds gaining in weight are rapidly coming into con- 

 dition and will remain in this state from three to five days, 

 after which they will begin to lose. Things that indicate good 

 condition are: Bright eyes, deep blood red color in comb and 

 wattles, comb standing firm and straight, plumage should be 

 bright and that of a male bird should have a high sheen. The 

 male should be lively and fond of calling the hens when given 

 food. 



We get the above symptoms of condition by the following 

 method of feeding and handling: 



