BREEDING 



9 



Reproduced from Cornell Reading Course Bul- 

 letin No. 45. Showing contrast in constitu- 

 tional vigor in White Plymouth Rock cockerels. 

 Strong specimen at left, weak at right. 



ied and housed with special regard to the laying of a large 

 number of hatchable eggs during the natural mating seas- 

 on, instead of being forced to heavy production for com- 

 mercial purposes during fall and winter." 



Heavy feeding and underfeeding are both sources of 

 impaired physical vigor. Where they are dry fed and given 

 an opportunity to exercise there is little danger of overfeed- 

 ing pullets. For 

 several seasons we 

 have been inter- 

 ested in the work 

 of successive flocks 

 of pullets housed 

 in open-air houses 

 and fed liberally 

 by the dry meth- 

 od, food always 

 before them. Five 

 generations of 

 pullets have yield- 

 ed a plentiful sup- 

 ply of fall, winter 

 and spring eggs, 

 showing in the 

 spring exceptionally good fertility and good hatches of 

 •chicks that live and thrive. We have failed to note in these 

 birds any lessening of constitutional vigor. 



Male birds were not introduced into the above mentioned 

 flocks until two weeks before eggs were wanted for hatching 

 and this we think is an important factor in securing vigorous 

 chicks. There is no need of worrying the pullets with the 

 attentions of an active and masterful "lord of the harem" 

 until his services are needed. 



Fresh Air an Important Asset 



The bulletin fails to cite one of the chief factors contribu- 

 tory to loss of physical vigor, that of housing birds in poorly 

 ventilated quarters. Fresh air is one of the most important 

 assets which we have for building up and maintaining bodily 

 vigor. To get best results the birds should be housed in 

 open-air buildings. 



"(5) Congestion and crowding of the breeding stock 

 by keeping large numbers on limited areas. Without doubt, 

 this is one of the most serious causes of loss of vitality. 

 The modern system of handling fowls in large numbers must 

 be on extensive farms rather than on "congested plants. 

 The land thus occupied should be used for growing fruit, grain 

 and grass crops, its use by the hens being only incidental. 

 This]]avoids soil contamination and gives the fowls the natural 

 free-range conditions necesgary; that is," opportunity and in- 

 centive to forage. In any event, rigid grading as to size 

 and vigor should be practiced iti order to avoid the unequal 

 ■Contest between the physically, unlike." 



' Paragraph numbered "5" is one that should be care- 

 fully considered by every poultryman. It does not mean 

 that inteHsive poultry farming cannot be 'successfully con- 

 ducted, but it does mean that such methods are always 

 jiracticed at a risk of loss of vi_gor and vitality. Poultry 

 lieepers who find it necessary to have large flppks on limited 

 ajreas should pay particular attention to keeping the soil 

 ijurified,. by frequent cifltivation and the poultry quarters 

 •disinfected regularly. They shbuld introduce new blOqd.. 

 fret[uently and obtain suppUes of farm-grown yo•^^g stock;; 

 often. Intensive poultry' 'farming calls for strict attention" 

 tQiselectiiife -Iweeding stods.for health and vigor, ji^'f^fv^^.,,'-" 

 "-■"X6) Lack of exercise for the breeding stock. This is 

 a necessary consequence of congestion, and a common ac- 

 companiment of over-feeding. Too much to eat and too 

 little to do appears to be one of the most potent sources of 

 difficulty in securing fertile eggs with strong hatching power, 

 capable of producing vigorous chickens. The dangers of 



over-feeding may be greatly reduced and health promoted 

 by furnishing for the breeding flocks a deep litter of straw 

 or other scratching material, by feeding all whole grain in 



the litter and by providing a large range to encourage exer- 

 cise in the fresh air the year round. 



"(7) Carelessness in methods of keeping eggs for 

 hatching. It is apparent, from experiments made at Cornell 

 that the fertility and hatching power of eggs can be impaired, 

 or entirely lost, ' by wrong methods of holding eggs for in- 

 cubation. Presumably, loss of vitality in the egg may affect 

 a chicken through life. Ordinarily, eggs held for incubation 

 should be turned each day, kept in a cool place, 45 to 55 

 degrees, and should not be incubated when over one, or, at 

 most, two weeks old." 



Carelessness in keeping and handling hatching eggs is, 

 we believe, one of the most common and dangerous contribu- 

 tory causes of loss of physical vigor. Probably more chicks 

 are found dead in the shell or die soon after hatching every 

 year from this cause than from any other. It has always 

 been a mystery to us how anyone could expect to get a good 

 hatch from eggs which had been kept in a warm room for 

 two or three weeks, or which had been exposed to frequent 

 extreme change of temperature. 



We do. not believe in turning eggs every day. It is a 

 good deal better to let them alone. Gather the eggs fre- 

 quently, place them in a clean receptacle, cover to prevent 

 evaporation of contents through drafts of air, and keep 

 them in a cool room where the temperature dops not go below 

 40 or above 60 degrees F.. Whenever possible, they should 

 be used for incubation before they are a week old. Incuba- 

 tion of a fertile egg begins before the egg is laid. Exposure 

 of the egg to a temperature of 70 to 80 degrees, results in 

 quickening. Prolonged exposure to above 80 degrees or 

 frequent warming or cooling while keeping for hatching may 

 kill the germ and will surely result in loss of vitality. 



"(8) Improper systems of incubation. Apparently, 

 faulty incubation is accountable for much of the loss of vi- 

 tality in chicks. This may apply to both the natural and 

 the artificial systems, although more_frequently the latter is 

 at fault. This is because so many things that will injure 

 the chicks may happen with good machines in the hands of 

 poor operators, with poor machines and good operators, or 

 with poor machines and poor operators. Since so many of 

 these combinations of unfavorable conditions exist, it ap- 

 pears that much injury to the health of the flocks may result. 

 It should be said, in justice to the most modern systems of 

 artificial incubation, that good incubators in the hands of 

 good operators have caused no apparent loss of vitality even 

 when artificial incubation has' been practiced continuously 

 for "many years. 



Reproduced from Cornell Reading Course Bulletin No. 45. Four 

 chickens of the same, variety, age and method of rearing. Two in center 

 1* (Df group show faulty development and lack of constitutional vigor The 

 (Jiflerence in size, and strength apparently due to inherited weakness. 

 ' ' -i, . '■-■, 

 *.- "(9);-. BjfiodingJ.and rearing chickens under crowded 

 ' ..^jonditiolis ''with a general violation of the principles of sani- 

 tation. However important it may be that mature fowls be 

 kept in healthful environment, it is equally important that 

 the chickens be, raised naturally and rapidly on the best 

 rations under free-range conditions. Too rapid forcing on 

 rich, easily assimilated food with lack of exercise, results in 

 leg weakness and faulty digestion. Feeding too large a pro- 

 portion of coarse feed with much fibre, making it slow of 

 assimilation, results in stunted growth and the trouble 

 known as 'long wings.' " 



