12 



CHICK BOOK 



Let us suppose the following case: A breeder may have 

 followed the chart to the end and have fine birds. Thinking 

 that he has five groups he sells all his old stock and mates 

 14 and 18 and 15 and 17. In reality the chickens he gets 

 are all half-breeds like 3, 7, 11 and 16. Every one of them 

 would be exactly of the same blood as group 3, and he would 

 mate these last pullets to his male in group 18 and the cock- 

 erels to the hens in group 14. 



It is intensely interesting for those who like to experi- 

 ment to study this chart. By careful line breeding a 

 breeder is in a position to produce at any time birds having 

 half the blood of his original flock and he is safer to breed his 

 own birds than to go out of his flock to get a hen to intro- 

 duce to his own strain. It is more safe to breed a thousand 

 chickens from a, single pair than to keep crossing strange 

 hens into one's flock. With the occasional crosses like 5 

 and 8 and 4 and 6 we regain any seeming loss. Had not 

 these two crosses been made the chart would have seemed 

 to have verged into half-breeds in time. But these two 

 crosses more firmly establish the two strains. 



Condensed Description of Chart 



Remember in studying the chart that the solid lines 

 show the male birds and the dotted lines the female. Each 

 circle represents the progeny. 



Female No. 1 mated to male No. 2 will produce group 

 No. 3, which is half the blood of the sire, and half that of the 

 dam. Females from group No. 3 mated back to their own 

 sire, No. 2, produce No. 5, which is three-fourths the blood 

 of the sire. 



Select a cockerel from group No. 5 and a pullet from 

 group No. 4, or vice versa, which will produce group No. 7, 

 which is mathematically half the blood of each of the original 

 pair, Nos. 1 and 2. This is the second step toward produc- 

 ing a new strain. 



Females from No. 5 mated back to the original male, 

 No. 2, produce group 8, that are seven-eighths the blood of 

 No. 2. A cockerel from No. 4, mated back to the original 

 dam. No. 1, produces group No. 6, which is seven-eighths 



the blood of the original dam and only one-eighth the blood 

 of the original sire, giving us a flock of birds that have prac- 

 tically the same blood as the original dam, because the blood 

 of the original sire is almost eliminated. 



Select a male frOm No. 8 and females from No. 6, and 

 for a third time produce chicks (in group No. 11) that are 

 half the blood of the original pair. This is the third step 

 and the nin/th mating in the breeding of a new strain. In 

 all this, the line of sires has not been broken, for every one 

 has come from a group in Which the preponderance of blood 

 was that of the original sire. Nos. 2, 8 and 13 are virtually 

 the blood of No. 2; in effect thSy are the same, for the blood 

 of No. 1 is exhausted. A point is now reached where we can 

 establish a male line whose blood is virtually that of the 

 original dam. If now a male is selected from No. 6 and 

 mated with a female from No. 4, group No. 9 will be pro- 

 duced, which is 13-16ths the blood of the oirginal dam 

 (No. 1) and 3-16ths the blood of the original sire (No. 2). 



Select a male from No. 9, and a female of the new strain 

 (No. 11), and produce group No. 14, which has 21-32ds of 

 the blood of the original dam, thus preserving her strain of 

 blood. 



A male from No. 13 which is 13-16ths the blood of the 

 original sire (No. 2) mated to females from No. 10, which 

 are 5-16ths the blood of the original sire (No. 2) gives group 

 No. 17, which is 9-16ths the blood of said sire and virtually 

 is a group of the middle line or new strain, for we no longer 

 call these birds half-bloods of Nos. 1 and 2. 



In No. 16 we have the new strain and in No. 18 the strain 

 of our original sire. No. 2. We have three distinct strains, 

 Nos. 14, 16 and 18, and with systematic care we can go on 

 breeding for all time to come. 



I call this "Arithmetic in Poultry Culture." It is pretty 

 hard to get along without arithmetic in any calling and in 

 this case it lends absorbing interest to our breeding. 



I am pleased to present my original breeding chart to 

 your readers. The edition I had printed is exhausted and 

 I do not intend to print another. I bequeath it to you. 



RIGHT 



LEFT 



RIGHT 



LEFT 



RIGHT 



LEFT 



MARK THE CHICKS FOR IDENTIFICATION 

 The above diagram shows method of marking chicks so that sixteen 

 different flocks, ages, or families may be identified by absence of punch 

 marks as in No. 1, and by punch marks as shown N-os. 2 to sixteen. A 

 good chick-size poultry punch may be had at a small expense. Newly 

 hatched chicks should always be punch-marked and a record kept of the 

 date on which they were hatched, later the marks can be supplemented 

 by leg banding, making it possible to positively identify many ages, flocks 

 or families. Chicks should be punch-marked soon after hatching. Keep 

 a record of your chicks this season. 



